


The Secret of a Lost Fairy: Part 1

by LittlestBook



Series: The Secret of a Lost Fairy [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, F/M, Fairies, Fantasy, Modern Era, Other, Winx Club AU, winx club - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 06:15:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 279,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23466742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlestBook/pseuds/LittlestBook
Summary: For the longest time, Natalya Arlovskaya (APH Belarus) always had a love for magic and fairies. Despite knowing that they aren't real, she can't help but imagine herself in a world of magic. She thought this was the case until encountering a fairy by the name of Florentyna (APH Fem!Poland) near her home after seeing her get attacked. Without even knowing she had the ability to manipulate magic, Natalya comes to find out that there is a reason why she loves the idea of magic - and that was because she was born a fairy. Florentyna soon encourages Natalya to leave her family on earth and journey to the magical dimension, where she makes a group of friends (APH Fem Germany, Lithuania, Taiwan) and spends her time researching about herself.Turns out, she's not just an ordinary girl from Earth after all.
Relationships: AmeBel - Relationship, AmeBela - Relationship, America/Belarus (Hetalia), Lithuania/Poland (Hetalia)
Series: The Secret of a Lost Fairy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2069547
Comments: 20
Kudos: 17





	1. Prologue

_“For generations, it is said that only one individual of the magical dimension is to be chosen to be bestowed with these powers. These powers are to be used for the greater good, to protect all of the civilization of the many worlds throughout the many dimensions that exist. These powers will be granted to the next heir of the bloodline, who shall continue its power on with its own heirs._

_Through generations and generations, the female chosen to possess these powers shall be known as the guardian fairy of the magical dimension. Fate determines who in the bloodline is to receive it next, for fate knows that the rising fairy from birth will protect it until their very end._

_These powers - the heart of ice and dragon flame - both possess the abilities with two crucial elements of the universe. Fire, to fight against enemies in the offense for those who need saving - and ice, to defend others in ones need to recover from hurt or for protection._

_When chosen as the guardian fairy, this guardian shall lead on a team of selected fairies to serve as her fellow guardians. To not only serve and protect our universe, but for these guardians of light to protect the powers the princess of the magical dimension possesses.”_

A moonshine glistened from the window glass; revealing the dark blue orbs of the young woman who sat on the edge of a large bed. Under the covers had been two smaller children; a young boy with messy blonde locks of hair and a young girl, whose hair was braided down her back. Both children looked intent and had their full attention to the older woman who sat there; her hand resting on which looked to be a swollen bump on her abdomen.

“Wow…” The younger girl had spoken; hearts drawn to her eyes in amazement of the story that was told. The older woman chuckled; standing up from her spot on the bed before brushing back her long blonde locks of hair to her back, “…So that’s why the Company of Light is always here, mama? ‘Cause you have the dragon flame and heart of ice?”

There was a smile that formed along the woman’s lips hearing the question that came from her daughter. Ah… It wasn’t a complicated question, but the answer was an easy one, “Yes… Technically,” She explained while one hand had rested against her back to support the weight on her front, “Even though I’m the guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice, I’m still your mama, and mama says it’s time to go to bed,”

"But mama..." The younger boy on the bed had sat up, looking at the other woman with a pout on his face, "I'm not tired."

"Me too!" The girl had spoken, agreeing with her brother as she sat up herself. This had the mother sigh seeing that apparently, a bedtime story just wasn't enough for the two. 

Then again, when she was their age, she couldn't sleep after a good story too. 

"Well, that's an issue, isn't it?" She sat down once more with thought to her tone of voice, "What can I do to get you two to go to bed, hm?" 

The two children exchanged looks at each other, which indicated that they had no idea. However, the boy had been the one to speak before out of the covers of the bed to sit in his mother's lap; looking up innocently as he asked a simple question, "...can you sing to us?"

The request had the woman startled. But alas, that was a request that she wasn't opposed to. One could call it with being a singer by heart, she always would sing lullabies to her children since they were infants. The fact that they still desired for such warmed her heart as she moved in between the two; wrapping her arms around them, "Alright, Vanya. So long as you and Yekaterina promise to go to sleep after before your father begins to wonder where I am." 

"Papa can wait!" Yekaterina had spoken up once more, now moving her head to her mother's chest as the older woman smiled at her child, "Please, sing? The lullaby about the river." 

The lullaby about the river... It was an old song that came from the village she had grown up in. The woman closed her eyes and nodded before taking in a breath; looking at the two children as she sang in a soft voice; 

_"In her waters, deep and true. Lies the answers and a path for you... Dive down deep into her sound, but not too far or you'll be drowned..."_

She sang softly to the two younger children; her hands combing through the long locks of hair that belonged to Yekaterina while Ivan had his face pressed to her side.

" _Yes, she will sing to those who'll hear. And in her song, all magic flows... But can you brave what you most fear?... Can you face, what the river knows?"_

As she sang, she began to notice one of the two already beginning to doze off. When seeing this, she had shifted herself gently to allow Ivan to lay himself down on a pillow while she looked at Yekaterina, smiling at the child as the younger girl looked up to her.

" _Where the North Wind meets the sea... There's a mother, full of memory..."_

She leaned forward, placing a kiss on the girl's head before slowly getting herself up so she could get herself comfortable.

". _..Come, my darling, homeward bound... When all is lost, then all is found..._ " 

Without allowing another second to pass, seeing that the two were beginning to doze off, she had tucked in the sheets firstly to make sure the children were comfortable. Ivan had already been passed out asleep, yet it seemed that Yekaterina was almost asleep. Soon, the woman held out her hand toward the direction of the window. There, a glow came from her palm - resulting in the curtains being pulled shut to prevent the early sunrise in the morning. 

When she thought that the children were asleep, she had been just about to turn around when hearing Yekaterina speak out, "Mama?… You said that you’d have to pass on your powers one day.” She spoke; his eyes full of worry almost as if he was worried for the woman. This caught the woman’s attention as she tilted her head, indeed confused on why the child looked so worried, “Does…does that mean if you die, the powers is just going to be passed on like that?”

The expression of confusion that was once on the woman’s face had become horrified and soon she had waved her hands back and forth, almost in a panic, “Oh my sweet darling, no no… That’s not how it works." She whispered for the sake of the younger boy who was fast asleep, "Yes, even though we’re magical beings, we born, live and die just like any other person. But one could say passing on the torch isn’t like that,” She explained, sitting herself down once more on the edge of the bed, “I get to choose when to pass on that torch. I could do it when I decide to retire, or when I’m in a critical need that… I have to give up my powers in order to make sure it stays safe. I have to be ready for that day.”

The passing of the torch as part of each generation of her family. The powers - the heart of ice and dragon flame - were considered the powers that brought life to the magical universe. With that torch-passing on, it could be at any time. The woman smiled reassuringly now and reached over to cup the cheek of the younger girl.

“…Are you ready though, mama?” Yekaterina interrupted now with another question, which caught the older woman off guard.

But then, she smiled again. The simple answer to that question… Was no. No, she wasn’t ready for it at all. The day she would have to pass on the torch to one of her children to serve as guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice. Many enemies desired her power… Would do anything to have possession of it in order to take over the magical dimension.

And she swore her life when she got that torch, no one would ever get it.

“I don’t know, Katya.” The woman responded after a moment; caressing the skin of her son’s cheek before lowering it to bring her attention to her daughter, “But fate does. Fate is… A mysterious power that knows what’s coming next before we even do… That includes who will be getting these powers next. It’ll either be you, Yekaterina…” She smiled at her daughter before looking over at her son who had been snoring softly, “Your brother, Ivan…”

“…or the baby.”

It was there that her hand had been brought over to the swollen bump on her abdomen once more. There, her fingers gently caressed the hardened bump. Pregnancy was indeed a beautiful thing. All she knew was that while this baby was her last that she and her husband planned to have, either one of her children would take ownership of her powers. Which was why she had to train and protect them for as long as she could before fate decided who would be the one to take ownership of it.

The woman snapped her fingers, using her magic to turn off the lights in the room, "Katya," She spoke again in a whisper and turned to look at the girl, "If anything ever happens to me, just sing that lullaby. That's your reminder that I'm going to be with you always... That's what's unique about love. It's a powerful bond that it can't separate us," From there, all lights with a spark of magic had shut off, leaving only a night light on for the two children. Kisses were exchanged by the woman to each child, followed by their usual ‘goodnights’ to each other, before she made her way to the door. Just before she exited, she could hear a small giggle come from Yekaterina:

“I can’t wait for the baby to be born, mama.”

Hearing these words brought a warm feeling to the woman’s heart as she stood there, that the smile that was already present on her face had only grown more and more. The door was opened and she had already stepped out, though just before closing it, she had stuck her head into the room and smiled at her children.

“…Me too Katya, me too.”

The door was left at a crack before she had officially turned around and made her depart from the bedroom. As she walked towards her own room, surrounding guards in the hallway bowed to the woman out of respect as she smiled and gave them nods to acknowledge their presence before she too, went to her own chambers for that night.

Just as fate was powerful, it was that same, summer evening that came to the labor for a new child. A new child that she the queen, hadn’t expected to be giving birth that evening with her husband, the King, right at her side. But it was at this point that she had begun to expect the unexpected. For her labor pains to begin after putting her two children to bed for the night, only for three hours into her sleep for her water to break and leading to giving birth.

But it was all worth it in the end when she had welcomed a new baby girl to her and her husband’s small family.

It was also the same day that the magical dimension had welcomed a new princess to their world.

It was a joyous occasion in the Kingdom when it was announced that the very next morning the royal family welcoming a new daughter. A new daughter that was presented to the entire magical dimension just a few days later, where the King and Queen stood outside their balcony with their two children present. In the King’s hand had been holding onto a microphone as he looked towards the audience of his people, chanting in celebratory measures of the newest princess.

"Citizens of the magic dimension, it brings me great honor for me, your King Viktor, to welcome a new child to our family," He spoke into the microphone before turning his attention over to the woman beside him who had been holding onto an infant swaddled in a white blanket, "My wife, Alyona and I are pleased to introduce you to newest Princess of Sparx; Natasha Braginskaya." 

The King and Queen were overjoyed welcoming their new child to the world. A baby girl with violet-blue orbs, pale skin, and light blonde hair; she was the right mixture of the Queen and King just as with all their children. Little Yekaterina, starting at the age of eight, while there was little Ivan who was four…

…Then little baby Natasha, who was the baby out of the three.

It was one of the best months to come to the Kingdom. A grand ball was held by the royal family as a celebratory to welcome the new child. On the day of the arrival, the two eldest children were running around the palace in excitement; welcoming the guests to the biggest event to ever take place in their Kingdom.

Dancing, beautiful music, and gifts were given by all these magical beings for the newest princess. Fairies or even wizards were welcomed to the event, where all of them gave their respects to the Queen and King. The children danced around with guests as well. Any person who was to walk into that ball could feel the powerful, positive energy coming from the aroma and feeling inside.

Until three guests, in particular, decided to make an unwelcome appearance.

It was no secret that for the fairy, they were in a weak state for days after giving birth after using their power and energy to protect the child in their womb. To see these enemies make an appearance; specifically, after the queen for her power resulted in destruction ensuing in the palace.

It had gotten to a point where the Queen didn’t know what to do. Her husband fought along with the Company of Light; the warriors to protect the powers of the heart of ice and dragon flame… But in her heart, the Queen knew what this meant.

This was how dangerous fate could be.

With a chance to run with her children, she felt tears run down her cheeks hearing the loud, crying wails from the infant in her arms and the panicked crying that came from her children. She had to go and fight, but in her heart, she knew it was time.

Tears were stricken in her eyes as she had hidden in a corner with her children before she held a hand over the crying child in her arms, and spoke:

“I, Guardian Fairy of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice, Alyona Braginskaya…

 _…Give you **everything**._”

A bright glow of power came from the palms of her hands. She could feel herself shaking violently; tears continuing to stream down her cheeks as the children who ran with her had witnessed the scene of a bright, glowing power slowly grow from their mother’s chest. That power in the form of an orb soon traveled towards the infant who had been crying. This light slowly lowered into the infant’s chest, where soon, powerful energy came from the newborn.

The Queen looked up at her children who were horrified at what had just happened. There was no time to waste. Instead, she had swaddled the newborn in her arms with the blanket that had been carrying her, giving her to Yekaterina and looking at her daughter straight in the eyes to make sure she was paying attention.

“Mama-!”

“Yekaterina, listen to me.” The Queen’s voice was strict; showing the child that there was no time to waste, “You remember how I taught you about portals, yes?” She began, which immediately a quick nod came from the tear-stricken girl, “You are to send Natasha to another dimension… A dimension with a world called Earth. There, no one will find her. The dragon flame and heart of ice will protect her and make sure no one of darkness here will find her. Do you understand me?”

“B-But mama-“ Another cry came from the girl, almost as if she were afraid of doing anything wrong, “Y-You gave u-up your powers-“

“To keep her safe. Yekaterina, no one can know that she has the power. I need you to do this for me,” The older woman began once more, “You are to send Natasha to Earth, and then you are to go outside with Vanya where Radella will escort you both to the capitol with the rest of the Company of Light. Use your powers. Do everything you can to protect your brother until I can come to get you.” With this said, she had reached to her neck and removed what looked like a necklace. There, she had closed her eyes; using the last of the energy she had from her powers to split the necklace into three pieces. One-piece around Yekaterina’s neck, one around Ivan’s neck, and one securely in Natasha’s blanket.

A tight embrace was given by the older woman as she stood there; her cheeks wet with tears at the thought of having to leave her children for now, “I love you three… So much, more than anything in my heart. You will be okay because I will protect you. I promise.” She looked at the two children, then at the infant who had been crying in her older daughter’s arms before leaning in to place a kiss against each of their foreheads. She pulled back, “Now go. Quickly.”

One last exchange of eye contact was made by the children and their mother, before soon, Yekaterina had ran with the infant in her arms and one hand holding onto her brother’s to get the task done.

Loud explosions could be heard from behind the Queen after she had seen her children run. And then she felt it. The dark presence, lingering behind her from the enemy that was after her. She turned around; revealing the tears on her face before she had held her hands up into the air and a bright glow of power filled the hallway:

_“You shall not get the power of the dragon flame and heart of ice!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading "The Secret of a Lost Fairy." This was something that I've been wanting to do for years. One of my favorite things is combing plots from either shows or books into the world of Hetalia (such as how people do, Pottertalia/Hetalia x Harry Potter - that sort of ordeal), so I wondered what would that world look like with the story of "Winx Club." Of course, the story will be similar to what is shown on the show, but there will be some major differences when it comes to characters (mainly based on personalities, other plotline changes that I think would take place with these Hetalia characters).
> 
> This will be shown in later chapters as the story progresses. If you were someone who watched Winx Club, while this series is HEAVILY based on it, the later chapters do show a lot of differences in the plot - starting off with this prologue as an introduction. 
> 
> This is, of course, an alternative reality/domestic AU of the story. There are some things that are VERY different from the plot of Winx Club (i.e., Natalya, who will serve as our protagonist will have two powers and not just one). There are also original characters (OCs) being used for purposes of plots. (I.e., in the original Winx Club there are witches. While the witches come later, they are all OC based in this version). 
> 
> My goal is to at least get one chapter up every Sunday morning, or maybe even earlier if I finish it. With the posting of this prologue, this means that chapter one of the series will be released on April 4th, 2020. 
> 
> AGAIN - this is all a work of FICTION. If you do not like the story, you do not have to read. This is JUST for fun, and I have NO ownership of the characters or plot of Hetalia/Winx Club. All characters and the story (despite the changes that I am making to the story), belong to their respected owners. 
> 
> I do NOT own "All is Found" and all copyrights go to Disney that is sung in this chapter.
> 
> This is rated M for mature audiences due to mature content that is to come later in the story (if you're a huge AmeBel fan, this is for you haha). 
> 
> With that being said, thank you for checking out this work, and I look forward to sharing with you more!
> 
> Thanks again! :)


	2. An Unexpected Event

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 17 Years Later...

Eastern Europe was indeed a beautiful place year-round. The cities within each different country uniquely reflect the cultures of each of their societies. Including in Moscow, it was a beautiful city, that resided the federation of Russians and tourists who came to visit. In addition to tourists, came the families which while were big, there was still a presence of love towards one another. 

Not only was there love, but achievements to be celebrated as well. This included the achievements for those in school, were in the middle of summer break. Summer break, already lasting for two months, was soon to come to an end for most students. Unfortunately, for some students, already they have returned to school. While others such as for advanced placement students in private schooling, had until the end of August before returning to their studies.

This had been the case for a young woman who had been fast asleep in bed in her family’s large manor that morning. For her mind was still on summer break, as her classes weren’t to resume for another two weeks. She took this time to relax, minus the traveling she did during that summer with her family, before going back to her crazy hours of waking up early in the morning for her figure skating training until classes. 

Despite being on break, this didn’t stop her family from trying to get the young girl ready to get back to her old routine. On this day, it had been a beautiful, sunny day in Moscow. It was early in the morning - just a little past 7 AM, where the young woman was fast asleep. Under her covers, her hair had been pulled back into a braid, while a large white comforter was pulled over her body. 

Beside her head, there was a book. A violet, leathered book with beautiful designs decorated along its edges. This was a hint to the other woman who had entered the room to wake her up for breakfast, what exactly the younger one was doing that previous night.

Seventeen-year-old Natalya had no intention of getting up early that morning. As for her older sister, who stood in the room with a smirk on her face, knew her little sister wouldn’t get away with sleeping in. The bedroom itself was small. While the family lived in a large manor, for the perspective of any foreigner, it was the typical house with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen - normal for any family. 

Decorated along the walls had been drawings and scriptures discussing magic, magical beings - things that for Natalya, she had been fascinated about since she was a child. Today was a day that her father had instructed her older sister to wake her up. Even though it was summer break, their family ran a small bakery inside the city. While the older children would be helping out, on some days, Natalya had her chores she needed to do around the house while her family was out working.

Today was one of those days.

A large smirk was on the older girl’s face as she noticed a pillow on the ground. There, she had picked it up with her hand and crept over to the younger, sleeping girl. For any older sibling, it was common to tease the younger one… And well, she was going to tease Natalya for sleeping in this late while she and their older brother were wide awake thanks to their father. As the older girl crept towards the younger one in bed, the pillow was raised high to indicate one thing that was coming. Natalya was asleep; unaware of the lingering shadow all until

_Wake up, little one._

A voice filled her head in the middle of her dream that had Natalya felt her eyes go wide open. There, she had been exposed to her older sister with a pillow in hand, ready to swing it at her direction. Which, the older girl did, but Natalya had reached over and snatched the pillow after she had missed and instead, hit the comforter again.

“Big sestra, what the hell are you doing!?” Were the first words that had come from the girl as she sat there with a clear bed head, indeed a few dark circles around her eyes… And was that a bit of drool on her lip? “Were you trying to suffocate me in my sleep, _Anya_!?” 

Laughter immediately came from the older girl who stood there before what looked like an innocent smile on her lips. Whenever she smiled like that, it was scary. And Natalya most certainly didn’t like that at all, “Papa said it’s time for you to get up.” She began, “It’s your turn to help out chores. Dmitri and I have the morning shift today at the shop.”

What sounded like an annoyed sigh came from Natalya as she laid back down. Great… Just as she expected. For the next two weeks, she would be spending it probably working. Sure, she would be making money - it was her way of getting allowance - but she didn’t want to spend her entire last few weeks of a break just working. 

Seeing the response that came from her younger sister only had Anya chuckle. She was in college now, but anytime she saw her sister act like such, it always reminded her of how she was when she was in her last year of school, preparing for university. Though as she stood there, she noticed the book that was opened beside her sister’s pillow… This resulting in her to grab it, open it up and stare at it with a bit of amusement.

“Fairies, hm?” Anya began; her fingers going through the pages of the book. Inside the book had different stories about magical creatures, from pixies, to fairies, to warlocks and even witches. Then there was the portion behind a fairy’s magic, which was bookmarked. How their wings worked, what their source of power came from… She knew her sister had an interest in fantasy stuff, but she didn’t expect for this many years later, she’d still have an interest, “You still really like this fairy stuff, huh? Maybe if you weren’t up reading about it, it’d be easier for you to get out of bed in the morning.”

Ah yes, there was the morning pep talk that came from Anya. For Natalya, she was used to it already… Since after their mother had passed away when she was younger, her older sister and brother tag-teamed with their father to raise her. After all, Natalya was only two when her mother passed away - and it took a lot to raise a toddler back then. 

For Natalya though, since she was born she’d like to consider, she’s always had an interest in fairy magic. It was all fascinating to her. She always had an interest in the idea of magic… Unfortunately for her, magic didn’t exist at all. That was reality. Humans couldn’t use magic. Sure, there were magicians that traveled from America and put on shows in Moscow, but it wasn’t real magic. It was just a trick that could earn them some easy money.

But, at the end of the day, the older woman did have a point. After all, Natalya did stay up past her normal curfew to just reread almost everything she had known about fairies. The book had only laid out the details of how the magical creatures worked, but it was still amazing to her nonetheless, “Alright, I understand.” An annoyed sigh came from her as she slowly began to lift herself up, waving the other off so she could leave, “Give me ten minutes to get ready. I’ll be downstairs soon.” 

She knew how the routine worked every morning. If she was able to get her older sister off of her tail first, then she could take her time getting ready. That seemed to be enough to satisfy the Anya before she had approached her to place a kiss on Natalya's forehead, turned around and made her way to the door, “Ten minutes!” She waved a finger at her, “I’m counting.” And with that, came her departure once the door closed.

With the door being closed, it gave Natalya the privacy to get herself ready for the day. Mainly, making sure that all of her fairy tale books were put away this was when she began to get herself ready.

First, it was putting her clothes on for the day. One glance out of her window told her that it was going to be one of those hotter days, thus resulting in her putting on a pair of shorts and a white blouse so she could stay cool. Followed by this, she brushed her teeth, brushed her hair and pulled it back halfway with a ribbon, and the last thing - A necklace she’s had since she was a baby. She’s always worn it and didn’t intend on taking it off anytime soon. With that, she then slipped a pair of sandals on before making her way down the stairs for breakfast.

Walking downstairs, she took a right once reaching the ground where the familiar smell of something sweet met her nose. While she wanted to eat, her mindset was first figuring out what exactly these chores entailed for the morning.

Chores were usually posted in front of the fridge by her father. In the Russian household, it had been her, her older sister, older brother, and father. So while the chores were all done by them, their father went to work to take care of them all. The chores list had been listed off by the name, starting with Dmitri, Anya, and then Natalya as the last. 

As she approached the list, her eyes scanned for what exactly she was in charge of today… And that was grocery shopping, in addition to vacuuming and bringing lunch to her siblings at the bakery. Nothing too hard, seeing that it looked like she was to take a shift at the bakery later that day to help out. This she didn’t mind doing. It was better than what her older sister was doing, which was cleaning at the shop. That included toilets. Natalya cleaned the toilets last week, so it was her sister’s turn to take on the awful chore.

Natalya turned her head around where she saw her older brother making breakfast and sister already drinking a cup of tea. From what she could smell, it seemed that today would be porridge with fruit and eggs. A typical Russian breakfast, which was fine with her. Made sense as to why it smelled sweet. 

“How did you sleep, Natalya?” Her older brother, Dmitri, had spoken out to her in their native tongue while in the middle of sipping his tea, “Anya told me you stayed up reading about fairies again.” 

By the time she had heard this statement, Natalya already had been making herself a plate of food and walking back to the table. She choked on her own breathing before glaring over at her sister, who simply smiled back innocently before resuming to cook. 

_ That snitch.  _

“Fine,” She had answered her brother’s question and sat down. Plate of food, check. Now to pour herself a cup of tea, “Papa wants me to do the grocery shopping today and I’m leaving after I eat, so write down anything on the list that you want.” 

There was one thing that Natalya didn’t enjoy about being the younger sister, and that was her older siblings consistently teasing her. She supposed it was a normal sibling thing to do, since the only friends… Or acquaintances, she supposed, always talked about how their older siblings could be frustrating to deal with. 

The thing was that Natalya didn’t have a lot of friends at school. She may have one or two people that she liked to hang out with, but she wasn’t a good people person. She wasn’t good at socializing nor did anyone really like to talk to her. All most people knew her for was for being the talented figure skater in her school - that was it. 

She didn’t mind, though. The fewer people she had to care for, the more she could focus on her family as her number one priority. 

Breakfast lasted for about half-an-hour or so until she decided it was time to start heading out to the store. She placed her clean plate and mug that she drank her tea from into the kitchen dishwasher, followed by walking over to grab the list. 

It didn’t seem to be too much. Bread, milk, some meats… Perhaps this was because her father knew that it was her turn to do the grocery shopping, so maybe he didn’t want her carrying too much while she walked back. It also hinted too what was going to be supper for that night… Probably something with meat - which was expected for any Russian family meal.

“Oh, Natalya,” Anya had called out to her younger sister while she had been in the middle of putting on a light jacket since despite it being a beautiful day, it was a bit windy, “You can take my bike. It’s a bit of a walk to the market, so I don’t mind.”

Even if she had to walk, Natalya didn’t mind either. But she appreciated the bike since now travel time wouldn’t be as long. With a nod to say thank you, the young girl had proceeded to step outside and walk into her family’s garage to retrieve the said bike. The bike was tucked away in a corner, which showed it wasn’t used other than during the school year when Anya went to her classes. All Natalya had to do was pull it out, open the garage door, hop on and then she was off. 

When leaving the house, the neighborhood seemed to be quiet. Probably the majority of people were still asleep, which was why if it was her day to go out and do errands, it wouldn’t be as busy. Especially on a weekend when people tended to sleep in. Plus, it could have taken her longer to complete the trip, but fate seemed to be nice to her and allow for the travel process to be easy.

It took her about fifteen minutes or so to reach the said market. When she did, she had brought the bike over to a bike stand and chained it, before proceeding inside the market.

What her father had put down on the list wasn’t a lot to her. It was her siblings though that had been other items down, such as snacks, fruit, and other little items for them when they went to work. Grabbing a cart and loading the items into it as she went through the market, she looked down at the list in annoyance, “Jeez… It feels like they purposely are trying to get back at me for sleeping in.”

It took her about half an hour to complete all the shopping that she had needed. It was quicker than she thought she’d take, which led her to decide she would go on a small bike stroll. If she took her time getting home, the later would have to worry about her other chores. And her siblings if they asked her? She would tell them that she forgot something at the store.

Nothing that she had to worry about…

…That was until _someone_ did show up.

With the bike unchained from her parking spot and the grocery items in the basket that was connected to it, Natalya had been just about to climb on… Until something in her mind had called out to her.

_Turn around._

Without letting another second pass, she had turned around quickly to notice that a car had been driving up to her direction… Not just any car, but… A fancier one, for that matter. Then it all hit her. 

Oh no.

“ _Well well well, looks like Ms. Arlovskaya’s back from vacation with her family.”_

An annoyed expression immediately filled the girl’s face. Natalya wasn’t the type of person to get into fights. Truly, she wasn’t. But if someone tried picking a fight with her, she wouldn’t hesitate to defend herself. It was why she always carried a pocket knife in her bag. There were people that couldn’t be trusted. But of course, she knew who exactly this person was as she sighed and turned towards the direction of the vehicle, where her eyes had met the green orbs that belonged to one of the richest people, she’d like to consider, in Europe.

“…Hi Feliks.” Were the first words that came from Natalya before she climbed onto her sister’s bike, “I’d imagine your family would still be on vacation by now.” 

There was a sly smirk that came from the blonde in the car. For years now, since Natalya had transferred to the private school they attended - not because of money, but on scholarship due to her grades - he always tried to figure her out. She was a weird one. Quiet, smart, very beautiful, but so mysterious, “Oh, we arrived yesterday. I just came back from Paris. What did you do for your vacation, hm? Probably went to the beach or traveled to the next country outside of Russia. Maybe Ukraine?”

There was a long glare that came from Natalya. The thing about Feliks was that it was no secret that her family wasn’t an upper class. Yes, they had a business and they were comfortable - but this guy acted like money was an important thing in their society. 

“We went to America last month, actually,” Natalya responded, which seemed to be something that Feliks hadn’t been expecting her to say - especially based on his reaction of looking surprised. What made her even rub it in more was rather than speaking Russian next, she went straight into English, “ _My brother was doing graduate school in California and his commencement was there. But-“_ She switched back to Russian, “I bet you don’t even know a word of English, do you?”

Language was a mysterious thing when it came to her and her family. As of right now, Natalya fluently spoke Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian - mainly due to the fact of how similar they all were. As for English? Well, since she and her siblings were younger, they were taught English for future careers and opportunities. And it paid off well, seeing that Natalya herself landed a scholarship for one of Russia’s prestigious schools, her sister had a full ride to university, and her brother managed to complete graduate school all the way in America. 

Seeing the silence that came from Feliks had Natalya roll her eyes now as she climbed on the bike, “I thought so. Anyway,” She turned her head over to him, “I have to get home. See you at school in two weeks,” She began, before leaving the confused, shocked blonde right at his spot.

Natalya didn’t plan on going back home that soon. Oh no, she needed a break from her family just for a few minutes. As she rode, she remembered of a nearby park that she knew of… Perhaps _s_ he could stop there, maybe go to one of the stands that were selling fresh pirozhki, and maybe sit down to enjoy what nature offered her. 

It was better than sitting inside and working. 

And that’s exactly what she did. She arrived at the said park, approached a hot stand to purchase herself one of the Russian foods, then proceeded to look around to see if she could find herself someplace to sit. From what she could see, apparently, she had come on a day where a ton of people had been wandering around the park since there was no bench she could find to sit at. 

“Well…shit.” She sighed to herself and continued to look around. It took her five minutes or so to find a proper spot, but that had been underneath a tree. Better than nothing, she supposed.

She rested her sister’s bike against the trunk of the tree before sitting herself down. It was truly a beautiful day outside. While she was in a quieter area of the park, this being a bit towards the woods, this gave her a chance to admire the environment while she unwrapped the tinfoil of the Russian food.

Sitting on the ground on an early, Saturday morning was exactly what she needed. In all truths, she was still absolutely exhausted for staying up late. She was very well aware that she caused it to herself, but she would suffer through it by trying to make the day at least a bit better. Plus, she always was taught that reading was a good thing… Why did her siblings have to pick on her anyway about what she did at night? It was summertime, not school time. She should be able to stay up and read about her fake magic books if she wanted to.

Taking a bite out of the pirozhki was a nice taste to her tongue after having a small breakfast that morning. It was needed, for sure. She was used to eating them as well, seeing as her family sold them all the time in her bakery. But, if a tourist were to come to Moscow, Pirozhki was also really to have a proper one from a hot stand in the park. When she had gone to New York the first time, she never understood why it was important to eat from a hot dog stand at least once. 

But now in Moscow, she understood. It was what made tourists experience how people in Moscow were - at least, to her it did. 

The steam from the dough brushed against her cool lips and nose, and without hesitating, she took a second bite into it after swallowing her first. It wasn’t the best pirozhki that she’s had, but it was still something for her stomach. 

Her eyes gazed up towards the sky while eating. To others, a day like this would probably be considered interesting seeing that the city, or just the country in general, was famous for its colder patterns of weather. But to a true Russian who was raised and grew in Moscow, knew that this weather is something to cherish. It didn’t mean it was impossible for sunny days to exist in Russia, no?

What caught her off guard though was as she ate, there seemed to be wind from a distance. Probably just the wind, she thought to herself as she was just about to take her third bite. That all was until she heard thrashing from a bush, followed by what sounded like a voice more into the woods:

_“Ray of the sun!_ ” 

Natalya paused in her brief moment of admiring the scenery to raise her brow. What the hell was that? Whatever it was, it wasn’t any of her business. Maybe she was just hearing things again since that seemed to be an occurrence for people who were exhausted. She brought the pirozhki up to her lips again and bit into it… But, she heard something else again.

“ _Get away from me, you ogre_!” A woman’s voice filled the area before a blast could be heard. This blast had been enough to not only blow the wrapper of the pirozhki out of her hands but enough to blow against her that she felt pushed against the trunk of the tree she sat underneath. There was something definitely wrong at this point. This startled Natalya and resulted in her to immediately get up from her spot. It was as if on cue, the voices only continued, “ _You’re messing with the wrong fairy here!”_

What… What was she hearing? All of it came out of the blue. First the thrashing wind, voices, and now what sounded like explosions?… Was there a terrorist attack going on? Natalya didn’t know any more at that point, other than those sounds indeed sounds like explosions and there was a woman getting attacked. Should she call the police?

Whatever it was, Natalya knew she first couldn’t panic. If she called the police and it turned out to be nothing, then _she_ could get in trouble. The first thing she had to do was figure out exactly what the sounds were, and then she could make her decision. 

She stuffed the remainder of the pirozhki into her mouth now before quickly swallowing and proceeding with walking towards where she believed the source of the sound was coming from. It was more towards the woods, but it wasn’t far from her bike. The more she walked, the more she could feel the wind pick up. It was when she had noticed flashes of light and color blasting back and forth, that she knew it wasn’t wind she was feeling.

If she could just get a proper look of who was causing the explosions, then she would be able to match the cause of action to a face…

…What she saw though once close enough was what she wasn’t expecting to see at all. 

A young woman who had to be around the same age as her had been standing there. She had been holding a scepter, wore a sleeveless orange sparkling top, orange sparkling shorts, knee-length boots, and her hair had been pulled into low pigtails with a blue hairband in her hair. From what it looked like, she seemed injured… There was not only blood on her arms, but scratches on her face. The girl looked tired, exhausted, but she stood her ground as she looked at what was in front of her. 

What caught Natalya the most off guard though, had been the wings that were behind the girl’s back. 

“ _I don’t have what you want! Why are you coming after me?!_ ” The girl had shouted to something that had been in front of her. Upon further inspection, Natalya’s stayed hidden behind a tree to watch the scene play out. Yet, her eyes widened when she saw a creature practically four times the size as they were.

The creature’s skin had been blue, he had been completely hairy and wore ripped up overalls. Surrounding him had been other creatures that didn’t look so friendly with their crazed eyes, sharp teeth, and claws. 

“ _Holy shit…_ ” Natalya couldn’t help but to even whisper in English. From what she could see, the monster and the fairy were talking in English - so she could understand them. But, why was the creature attacking her? She looked like she was about to get killed if this monster wasn’t stopped!

“Because my highnesses have determined that you, Princess of the Sun, contain the power that they wish to have!” The large creature had spoken and held his hand out towards the direction of the fairy. This had led for the creatures that were beside him to go after her, which didn’t give a lot of time for the fairy to come up with a counterattack.

Natalya, believing that she couldn’t just sit there and watch… She did something she never imagined herself doing. Almost immediately, she picked up a nearby stick and ran in front of the fairy; swinging the stick and knocking back the creatures away from her. This definitely caught the fairy off guard as she gasped at the other blonde who popped out of nowhere; while the monster, clearly didn’t seem happy at all seeing the human who decided to interrupt a fight that had nothing to do with her.

Regardless of that, it didn’t stop Natalya from standing her ground before reaching into the bag on her hip. There, what she had pulled out what looked like to be a pocket knife as she pointed it at the direction of the monster; her eyes narrowed. She wasn’t afraid. But there was also the thought too that she couldn’t call the police - there was no way they’d believe her if she said she saw a fairy getting attacked by what seemed to be an ogre in their park!

“Hey, you!” Natalya shouted at the creature with the knife in her hands, holding it out in front of her while keeping an arm in front of the injured fairy, “Pick on someone your own size, won’t you? Get the hell away from her.”

The fairy who stood there felt her jaw drop seeing the knife and the way this girl stood in front of her… It - it was an Earthling, right? People from Earth weren’t supposed to know about magic. Even if they were to, usually Earthlings freaked out about it. Yet, this girl… Jumped right into the action seeing that she was injured. A smirk formed on the fairy’s lips now, because this gave her a great chance to fight back.

And so, once she gathered herself together, she immediately flew into the air where a bright orb of magic formed in her hands. She looked down at the girl and shouted one word, “Duck!” Which immediately Natalya could tell it was for her. Natalya ducked just as ordered, which gave the fairy a chance to send the power that glew in her hands right in the direction of the ogre who looked furious, “ _Solar attack!”_

Without even missing, the attack the fairy sent got the ogre off of his feet. A large explosion followed just after, though the fairy kept her guard and held her hands out at the ogre in case he got up… But, that attack wasn’t enough to keep him down. Instead, within seconds of taking the hit, the ogre was already getting himself up. The fairy took this as her chance to lower herself down to the ground where Natalya had turned to look at her, almost horrified.

And there it was. The shocked face that came from any person on Earth who saw a magical being… Uh oh. If there was one thing that fairies weren’t allowed to absolutely do no matter what was to expose themselves in front of normal humans.

Well, it was too late now. It was an accident anyway, “Thanks for that,” The fairy smiled and kept her eyes up ahead since she could see the ogre beginning to move, “I didn’t know what I’d do if he had got me in that attack. Good as dead, probably.”

The entire time Natalya stood there, she honestly didn’t know how to react. She was shocked! No, horrified for that matter. Not once in a million years did she ever imagine running into a fairy… They weren’t real. They were real in her books - but not really at the same time. Maybe she was dreaming? It did make sense seeing that she was very exhausted most of the morning and didn’t want to get up. But, normally her dreams weren’t as realistic as this. 

Why did it feel so _real_?

The fairy in front of her looked real. She talked normally and behaved like another person. When she had eaten the pirozhki, she tasted that. Then when she picked up the stick to smack away the creatures, she felt that. When she took out the knife, she felt that… It all felt too real, but it was just hard to believe!

Her mind had been in such a lost and confused state at that very moment, that she didn’t even realize that the ogre had gotten up and begun charging at the two girl’s directions. This was the same case for the fairy, whose eyes widened and she held her hands out, “Watch out!” She shouted, before soon being tackled down by the monsters that had been sent by the ogre.

By the time Natalya had been given the warning, she felt herself be grabbed by the wrists and lifted up into the air. She turned her head to the creature who indeed looked like an ogre from a fairy tale since he smelled absolutely disgusting and was four times bigger than her. With not knowing what to do, she immediately began to kick her legs back and forth while screaming, “Let go of me!” 

“I can’t have anyone interfering with my mission.” The ogre began, looking over at the fairy who had now been pinned down to the ground and was struggling to get herself up. 

The more she struggled, the more Natalya could feel herself becoming angry that she was being trapped like this in the first place. Her expression darkened and it was as if time had gone still. It was at that moment, she decided that the ogre wouldn’t get away with grabbing her like that. She was dead. Good as dead! She dropped her knife in the process of being picked up, how would she be able to escape from this-!?

_…Relax. Remember who you are._

Silence came from Natalya when she heard the sudden thought in her mind. Relax… No, she couldn’t tell herself to relax. She was afraid, she was angry… And she was panicking! The more she panicked, the more she found herself angry that soon, she looked at the ogre who seemed to be laughing at her. 

Without even realizing it, the grip that the ogre had on her slowly began to freeze. Freeze of ice, that the ogre noticed that there was something wrong right away when ice began to form around his hands while holding onto the girl. When he looked down at the Earthling, this time, Natalya’s eyes were glowing of anger.

“Let. Go. Of. _Me_!” 

Natalya had screamed aloud. It was in the middle of her screaming, that a burst of energy came from her; flames of magic filling the area as it pushed the ogre and monsters away from the other fairy. The ogre and its monsters immediately were pushed back; slammed against trees as Natalya dropped to the ground due to his grip being forced to let her loose. Once she was on the ground, Natalya stared right in the direction of where the monsters went.

It wasn’t over. If they could get up from the fairy’s attack, there was no way they could…

…Wait a second.

Natalya stood there and looked at her hands for a moment… Startled. What… What did she just do just now? All she remembered from seconds before was that she was angry… And well, this, feeling of positive energy and adrenaline had built up in her. All of it just came bursting out of her that… It was enough to not only see icicles around her fingertips but for a few bushes to have caught on fire.

This didn’t make sense at all… She had no idea what she did or how it happened - that was until a voice spoke out.

“...another… fairy?” The fairy who was once on the ground had stood up, almost in relief when looking at Natalya.There was a large smile present now on the girl’s face as she flew into the air, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner!? And here I thought you were just an earthling!”

A fairy?… Oh, no no no no _no_. That couldn’t be it. There was no way Natalya could be a fairy, but it didn’t seem that the other fairy was convinced. Instead, while Natalya had been in the middle of going through a crisis on the inside, the ogre slowly got up and had his hand pointed in the direction of the two girls. His eyes glowing dark in anger, particularly right at Natalya for what she had done. 

“Attack the earth fairy, then the fairy of the sun!” The ogre demanded, immediately sending his monsters right at Natalya’s direction. 

But of course, she was still pissed.

_Fight._

With her hands out instinctively now, as if she had no control of them at the moment, another burst of magic circled around her that when the monsters had tried to jump on her, they froze instantly and fell to the ground, shattering to frozen pieces, “Don’t touch me!”

The dark and angered expression on her face immediately disappeared when she realized what she had done. As she stood in place, Natalya looked down at her hands and around the area, unsure of what exactly just happened. Again, there was that voice telling her to fight… And her body just naturally went for it!

The ogre though knew that he had been in a situation now. The mysterious girl who had run and interfered with his battle against the fairy had been someone with powers as well! He wouldn’t be able to take them on, thus resulting in him deciding that he’d go retrieve back-up so he could come back after them.

“You win this time, Princess of Sun.” He then clapped his hands as a portal opened around him. Soon, the ogre had stepped into it along with the rest of the monsters before disappearing from the scene. Though just as he had faded through his portal, a male voice filled the area, “I’ll come back for you, and you and your fairy friend will be sorry!”

This had left the fairy and a very confused Natalya standing in the middle of the park now. The entire time they stood there, the Natalya had been staring down at her hands as if she didn’t know what that just was — which was true! She had no idea how she did that… It was almost as if her instincts had told her to hold her hands out, and it would be taken care of from there. And it did! The ogre was gone, it was just her and the fairy now… But, this still had to be a dream.

However, it wasn’t.

“Ew, can’t say I’m looking forward to that. Bad guys always try to act dramatic and say, ‘ _I’ll be back for you_ ,’ like in those damn creepy movies.” A voice came from behind Natalya, which resulted in her to immediately turn around and make eye contact with the said fairy that had been battling against the ogre earlier, “Anywhosies! I’m so glad to have another fairy around here!—“

Now that she was able to get a better close-up of the fairy, Natalya was astonished to see how… Humanly she looked. The fairies she had read in her books had always talked about them being very small, having pointed ears, and being very quiet and giggly. They used fairy dust for their powers, would take care of the environment…

…But this girl - she was a badass! - If that was the correct word to say. The only thing different other than resembling a human was the fact that she had not only powers but a pair of wings behind her back.

“What… Did I, do that?” Natalya took a moment to glance down at her hands. Nothing had happened to her, but she knew she had done something. It got the monsters and ogre to get away, but how the hell did she do it?

“You sure did!” It was then with the snap of her fingers, the fairy had transformed into a beautiful dress, her hair had been down and she wore a tiara on her hair. Okay, she was human… But also a fairy. How did that even work? “You got major power, girly. Like, at first during that fight, I thought I felt light energy coming from nearby… I had no idea it was you!” The fairy had reached over, immediately grabbing onto Natalya’s hands with a tight, firm grip while that large smile on her face grew and grew, “You practically saved my life! My name’s Florentyna.”

Oh shoot, they were giving each other names. This resulted in Natalya to look down at the other’s hands, swallow nervously before pulling back and speaking, “I’m… Natalya,” The girl had responded, still after about five minutes, trying to process what had happened. 

By the shocked tone that came from the other, the fairy could tell that the other was a bit uneasy. Could it possibly…? “You look like you just discovered something…” She began and approached Natalya; tilting her head innocently, “Did… You just discover your powers? Did you know you were a fairy too in the first place?” 

How was Natalya supposed to answer a question like that? Because yes, it was true! She grew up as a normal human all her life… Yes, she dreamed about fairies and had thousands of thoughts about magic almost every day since she was a kid. But she couldn’t believe it was happening to her right then and there! “No, I just…” She brought a hand up to her forehead, “This has to be a dream. Fairies aren’t real - magic isn’t real… I just, I saw you and thought you were hurt, and I wasn’t expecting this to happen at all!” 

Florentyna was silent as she listened to the girl speak. So, she was a fairy that had just discovered her powers. It reminded her of herself and how when she was younger, she panicked too upon discovering her powers. Though usually when a fairy discovered their true nature, it was at an earlier age. The girl in front of her had to at least sixteen or seventeen… So, why did she discover it so late?

“Let me tell you, Natalya,” Florentyna smiled, “ _Seeing_ isn’t believing. _Believing_ is seeing the truth.” 

Believing… Is seeing the truth. Was this why she had been able to see Florentyna and this ogre fight? While she would have loved to believe in fairies for so long, it was just… Hard for her to because of what everyone told her. Magic and fairies weren’t real, that was it. 

As Natalya stood there in thought, what she did notice though was how the girl in front of her… She didn’t look good at all. If anything, she looked exhausted. She was injured, there was blood on her legs and shoulder… That was when Natalya saw it. During that period of silence, Florentyna had closed her eyes and brought a hand up to her head.

“…I don’t… feel good…” Her voice was slurred, which Natalya immediately knew what was coming next. Was - was she about to pass out!? 

It was exactly as she thought. Seconds after saying these words, Natalya had immediately dropped to her knees to catch the girl who had landed straight to the ground. She didn’t look good at all… Should she bring her to a hospital? No, because if she did and if they asked her how her injuries happened, no one would believe her if she said an ogre did it.

The next thing she could think of was well… Reaching into her bag and calling her father for help.

Explaining on the phone to her father that well, she had found a girl passed out at the park wasn’t the kind of scenario he had expected to hear when he was at work. Then there came the rapid Russian, questioning why Natalya didn’t bring her to a hospital, to which Natalya had come up with the lame excuse of she was a friend from school that she met up with doing errands and it would be better to bring her home before dropping her back at her parents home.

It was a lie that seemed to do the trick on getting her father to come to pick her up at that park, which he did not look happy to say the least, at Natalya when seeing that they weren’t taking her to a hospital.

Of course, Natalya and her father had brought Florentyna to the car, where while she wasn’t doing well, she was a little conscious to at least walk and buckle her seatbelt. It took about ten minutes to arrive to the home, which came more questions from Anya and Dmitri seeing that there was a random girl coming into their home passed out. 

* * *

Unfortunately for the two girls, when the ogre had stated that he would be back, this was the truth at first… But of course, he still had to go to his superiors to give a status report. Upon leaving though the portal, the ogre and his monsters were soon transported to what looked like an abandoned building. Yet right in front of him, had been three women glaring down at him in the forms of auras. 

“ _Well…”_ The first voice had begun, “ _…Look who’s failed again.”_

_“Explain yourself, ogre.”_ Another voice followed with the first, followed by the wind picking up slowly in the area they were in, “ _We gave you specific instructions to take the Princess’ ring.”_

“Y-Yes, your wickednesses!” The ogre had begun in a nervous state - clearly afraid about possibly getting punished, “I was going to defeat Florentyna, but then all of a sudden, this Earth girl came out of nowhere and defended her!”  


A long silence came from the three women’s auras. That… Didn’t make sense to all of them at all. No people from Earth had powers. That was practically impossible, “Earth girl?” One of the women eventually spoke out in confusion, “What do you mean, ‘Earth Girl’? Earthlings are stupid and don’t even believe in magic.” 

Based on the ogre’s response though, the women were surprised to see him begin nodding, “Yes! You see, i-it wasn’t any earthling! She has power - very, very powerful magic, that it was enough to wipe out my monsters and me!”

An earthling with powerful magic… This was something that was indeed amusing to the women, that one of them soon spoke, “ _What did the girl look like_?”

“Oh, u-uhh…” The ogre swallowed nervously while looking up at the auras, “S-She was beautiful… Long blonde hair, violet-blue eyes, pale-skin like snow… B-But she knew how to fight too! I know practically everyone from the magical dimension, and I have never seen someone like her before, your wickednesses!” 

An earth girl who had no name in the magical dimension… That was considered impossible for the women of darkness who stood before the ogre. Magic never existed on earth. It was the one, only place throughout the entire dimension that had humans who had ordinary, normal lives. 

Normal lives with no magic compared to any magical being.

“Ogre, we’ll give you one last chance to prove yourself to us,” The third voice spoke out amongst the group of women, before soon the ogre could feel shivers running up his spine, “You are to find this Earth girl. Go back to Earth and kill her. Do whatever you have to do to her. The princess of the sun must be with her too, so you’ll be able to find them easily with detecting the energy of power. Bring the ring back to us. Understood? Or else you’ll regret it.”

What looked like relief immediately filled the ogre’s face as he went down to his knees, “T-Thank you, your highnesses! I’ll make sure to retrieve the ring and a present to you…

…the heads of the earth girl and the princess of the sun!” 

* * *

_“Natalya, I’m not sure I understand what you mean. She fainted because she was attacked, and she’s a fairy? Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?”_

Were the first words that came from her father after they had brought Florentyna inside. After a very long conversation while her older sister had laid Florentyna down on the couch and tucked her in, came the part where Natalya had to explain to her father that this girl… Well, wasn’t just a friend from school. Actually, she wasn’t even human at all.

“I already told you, papa.” Natalya began, looking up at the older man who had been glaring down at his daughter, demanding an explanation for what exactly was going on. She knew he wasn’t angry - it was more of, he was confused on what exactly was going on, “She was attacked by an ogre for some reason. I found her, she needed help. You always told me that if there was something going on to help others, and that’s exactly what I did.”

“She’s right, papa.” Just from the couch, Anya had been in the middle of cleaning the girl’s wounds. It looked like she just had a few scratches on her shoulders and legs, but nothing more than that as she placed gauze on with some medical tape, “You did teach us that helping others is important. Even if they’re our biggest enemies. Unless they deserve to be killed.”

“Thank you!” Natalya sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

But oh, her sister wasn’t finished, “But papa’s right, Natya. You sound crazy.”  
  
What looked like relief on Natalya’s face immediately resulted in an annoyed glare. Great, she was right. Her family wouldn’t believe her at all. It was a good thing she didn’t bring Florentyna to the hospital because they would have called her crazy then and there too. A loud sigh came from Natalya before soon, she looked back at her father, “I’m serious, though! She had a beautiful sparkling outfit, a scepter, beautiful glowing hair and wings on her back.”

Silence came from the older man as he stood there, observing the scene. None of it made sense at all to him. So instead, he crossed his own arms and thought, “…I see.”

“So you believe me!?” Natalya had perked up with a bit of hope to her voice. But of course, all her father had done next was placed a hand on the younger girl’s forehead.

“Nope.” Was his next response. He… He didn’t believe her at all! As much as she loved her father, sometimes it was hard to convince him of things. Especially seeing that her older sister was more on his side than hers, “I think I should call a doctor, Natya.” He began speaking in both Russian and English, “And a psychiatrist for you too, maybe bring this girl to the hospital!-“

“… _No… no please, don’t do that.”_

Both Natalya and her father had went immediately silent hearing the new voice. Even Anya, who had just finished putting the bandages on the sleeping girl had startled back - shocked that she had woken up. But this didn’t stop Florentyna from rubbing her eyes slowly to get her vision into focus.

“Don’t tell anyone… I’m here…” Florentyna began, “I’m not… supposed to be here…” 

“She’s waking up,” Anya looked over at her father and sister now, this time standing up to quickly retrieve a glass of water to see if the girl would at least drink. It took her less than a second, which once she returned with the glass, all Anya had done was kneel down and look at the younger girl, “How are you feeling? Are you okay?” 

“My head hurts…” Florentyna looked at the glass of water being offered to her before smiling, giving a small nod of thanks before taking it and drinking it. She had no idea what the other girl was saying in Russian, so she just imagined on this part of Earth, they didn’t speak English. As she did so, she looked over at the older man and the girl she recognized from helping her earlier, “Listen… I don’t know what language you guys are speaking, but all I understood was hospital and psychiatrist in English, and that would not be a good idea at all.” 

“Oh,” The older male looked over at Natalya and glared, “So she speaks English.” 

“Well, _of course_ , I speak English.” Florentyna handed the glass to the older girl in front of her, whispering a small ‘thank you again’ before looking at the man, “Isn’t that what everyone on Earth speaks?”

“Only in America, dear.” Anya had been the one to clarify for the other before standing up to look at the girl. Though seeing that she didn’t understand her earlier, she took this as her chance to switch to English so the girl would better understand her, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling great now. Thank you,” Florentyna responded before realizing after a moment that she wasn’t in the woods anymore… Oh no, she was in a house. By the auras that came from these humans, it seemed that they wouldn’t hurt her. Though when recognizing the girl in front of her who had rescued her, she had laid up immediately, “Oh, Natalya, right? That’s your name? I have to say thank you-“ She began, “You saved my life!” 

“Oh, it was nothing…” Natalya responded, which only resulted in even more confusion to fill her father’s face. Well, if anything, Florentyna speaking out to Natalya showed that she was telling the truth. 

“Do you have parents we can call?” Anya only continued now while kneeling in front of the girl, “Someone we can call to help you?”

That was a question that was indeed very amusing to Florentyna… So amusing, that she had begun laughing. Now, everyone in the room had been confused when hearing the question. Did… Florentyna think it was funny? Or was it a case where her parents weren’t present?  
  
“I’m sorry, but that’s going to be pretty much impossible,” As she said this, Florentyna slowly laid herself up so she had been sitting on the couch. This indeed gave a chance to reveal to the group of individuals the beautiful gown she had been wearing. The jewels and beautiful fabric - it showed she wasn’t any ordinary human, “My parents aren’t in this dimension. I’m a princess, you see.” She explained, “The Princess of the Sun from the planet Solis. My father is the King there.”

They had… A princess in their house? Natalya’s eyes widened hearing such a thing, but at this point, after seeing what had happened earlier… She couldn’t be surprised anymore at this point. Especially after the battle that had taken place earlier, it sounded so normal hearing that princesses, kingdoms, and other planets existed outside of the solar system! 

Despite the confusion in the room, Florentyna only continued on with her explanation. After all, it seemed that these humans struggled to believe her, which she didn’t know how else to explain herself other than tell the truth, “You see, I’m currently a student at Lenfia College for fairies.” She began, “I guess you can consider me a ‘fairy-in-training,’ because one day I’m supposed to become the guardian fairy of my family’s planet—“

“Okay, hold on. Pause for a moment,” The older male had spoken up once again, interrupting Florentyna on the spot that had the girl frown, almost offended that she was interrupted, “I still think I should call the doctor. You both sound ridiculous right now. Fairies, magic - it’s not real.” 

The second Florentyna had heard this, her jaw had dropped almost as if she couldn’t believe it. Typical earthlings… And this man seemed to be Natalya’s father. If he was a human and she was a magical being, perhaps she was a long lost earth fairy? She had no idea, but what she did know was that the man was wrong as she watched him approach what looked like a phone. All Florentyna had done was hold her hands out towards the man when he had the phone in his hand, and with the snap of her fingers, the phone had turned into what looked like a banana and head of lettuce.

“I’m _not_ joking.” Florentyna huffed, clearly offended by his words.

The second she had done this, of course, both Natalya and Anya were shocked seeing the glow of magic. Even their father, who had thought he had been holding onto a phone, dropped the banana straight to the ground before looking over at Florentyna to demand an answer.

“As I was saying,” Florentyna cleared her throat, wanting to continue on with her story to better explain herself, “As I was traveling to Lenfia, I was attacked… And well, I landed here on Earth. Now I know you don’t want to believe me, but your daughter really saved my life. She used an energy shield to protect us.”

With this being said, the fairy had motioned over to Natalya who stood there, dumbfounded. She still had no idea how to respond to that, but instead, she nodded in agreement with Florentyna’s words while her sister and father continued to stare, “It’s true. I don’t know how I did it, it just - happened.” 

“A fairy doesn’t need to know how it happened,” Florentyna explained, smiling at the other. It was such a good feeling to see a fairy discovering herself for the first time… And it seemed that Natalya had no idea how to control herself yes, “Your instincts tell you when you need to use them.”

This girl… Thought she was a fairy? No, that didn’t make sense to her at all. Even when Natalya turned her head away to look at herself in the mirror of her family’s living room, she looked like a normal girl. Even what Florentyna said didn’t make sense at all to her family - calling Natalya a fairy - it was ridiculous sounding.

Yet… There was something that sounded right in that statement. Natalya didn’t know why, but the feeling of being a fairy… It brought some spark of happiness in her heart. A sense of happiness that she felt like she’s been searching for all her life, but couldn’t figure it out. So instead, she put her time into reading fairy tales that involved fairies in the hope that the light would stay in her heart. 

“Have you registered to attend Lenfia too?” Florentyna didn’t finish with what she had been explaining, thus resulting in Natalya to turn her head away from the mirror to look at the girl once more, “It’s the best school for fairies. Actually, the top university in the entire magic dimension. You have to have insanely good grades… Or you could be a princess like me, who gets admission at a younger age.”

“Natalya’s in high school right now,” Once again, the older male spoke up while standing there with his arms crossed, “She isn’t going to university until next year. She has worked to get the scholarship that she has now for school, so this college conversation is at a pause for now.” 

It seemed that it would take a while to get her father to understand what was going on… Based on the expression that Anya had on her face, it was clear that she was confused… But was slowly beginning to understand. This was where Natalya looked over at her sister and spoke, “Big sestra, I’ll take care of Florentyna… and you pour a glass of vodka for papa.”

That didn’t seem like something she disagreed on, because right away, the older woman nodded in agreement and wrapped her arm around her father’s arm, “Natya’s right, papa. Let’s get a drink and maybe you can process this better.”

“Process this better?” The male looked down at the other with horror on his face, “Don’t tell me you believe Natalya - she must’ve hit her head! Fairies don’t exist-“

His voice slowly began to die out once leaving the two girls alone in the living room. This gave a chance to Natalya to sigh softly before looking at Florentyna, “Sorry about that. Don’t worry, I believe you… I mean, I have no other reason to.” She explained, which indeed brought reassurance to Florentyna’s face, “If you don’t mind, I’d… love to hear more about this fairy stuff, but not here with my father.”

“Yeesh, you said it yourself girly.” Florentyna did not hesitate to stand up when she heard the proposal, “I swear I felt like if I said something else, your dad would’ve really called a doctor on me.”

There was a chuckle that came from Natalya before she motioned the other towards the stairs of the house. Oh, she had no idea how her father could be… Especially since her mother passing away, well, he was very protective over his children, Including Natalya, who he knew was a smart girl. It didn’t make sense for a smart girl to be saying ridiculous things such as magic and fairies exist. 

It was better that they took their conversation to another room, which straight away, Natalya led Florentyna to her room where they would have more privacy to talk. It seemed to be a good spot too since immediately once Florentyna had walked in, her jaw had dropped in amazement. Firstly, at the sight of not only the drawings of fairies on a desk but the room just radiated powerful, strong energy.

“Wow…” Florentyna had spoken out as she walked in; looking around the room and admiring the work of art, “Did you draw these?” A nod came from Natalya as she continued to observe the girl, “That’s amazing… Oh?” Something had managed to catch Florentyna’s eyes off guard from the drawings to what looked like medals.

Not just any medals… But pictures, fake flowers… It looked like rewards. Just looking at it, she couldn’t tell what it said simply due to the fact that it was in a different language. But she knew what a reward looked like, especially since there was a picture as well with Natalya holding what looked like a trophy at a younger age while wearing a beautiful outfit and a pair of ice skates, “…So you’re a figure skater too?”

That was something Natalya hadn’t been expecting at all to hear from Florentyna while she let the girl observe. It was during this time that the girl had been in the middle of looking for her fairy books; curious to hear what Florentyna had to say about them. So upon hearing the question, she looked over at the other blonde and nodded, “Mhm. I did competitive figure skating for… almost ten years? I’m seventeen now, but I’m on break right now. Once school starts again, I’ll be back at it.”

“I see…” Florentyna gave a small smile before going back to her observing, “Sorry, I’m a bit nosy. It’s just I’ve never been in a house - let alone a room - of someone from Earth before. In the magical dimension, we’re not even allowed to come here. It’s a forbidden law because we can’t risk humans knowing that we exist… But I guess since you’re technically not a human, it’s okay, right?”

There she was again with the whole, not human part… This only frustrated Natalya as she sighed; placing the fairy books down, “You know, I still don’t understand what happened today, Florentyna. Really.” Natalya began, clearly showing that she was a bit irritated about the whole event, “Things aren’t normal at all… I grew up all my life as just, this human girl, and all of a sudden today I find out I have powers? Doesn’t that sound a bit strange to you?”  
  
“Not at all,” Florentyna responded with a small shrug, approaching the other’s bed now to sit on the edge, “If anything, fairies don’t discover their true powers until they’re… I’d say earliest as ten, but latest to well... You said you’re seventeen? I’m eighteen, so I guess you’re a bit of a late bloomer because I discovered my powers when I was eleven.” 

A late bloomer… How could it be late? Natalya knew from a young age she’s always been fascinated at the idea of fairies and magic. But she was always taught that it didn’t exist. Was that perhaps why?… While she believed it didn’t exist, that only prevented her body from discovering her powers?

Honestly, she had no idea. 

“If it’s _so_ normal to have powers then,” Natalya began, reaching over now for one of the books that she had read as a child and handed it over to the other, “Would you say your world is similar to these books?”

This definitely caught Florentyna off guard seeing the book, but indeed she was heavily amused. After all, she knew that humans had their portrayal of fairies. The very first one being that they didn’t exist, and then there was the other group of humans that created these fairies into being mystical beings. She stood there now; scrolling through the pages of the book before feeling laughter creep up her throat.

To Natalya, that didn’t look good at her to all. Why was she laughing? Was there something wrong with the book? 

Florentyna on the contrary, simply held out the book to Natalya with a large, grown smirk on her face, “I mean… Some of it is similar, but this book was written by humans. Not everything is true in here… For example, the part about us having one form forever. We fairies evolve over time, you know.” 

So there was a difference. That was very interesting indeed… And well, if that was the case, then that meant Natalya could ask all the questions she wanted to Florentyna about this fairy stuff, right?  
  
“The thing is Natalya, your magic has always been inside you,” The book that was once in her hands soon closed before being placed onto the nightstand beside Natalya’s bed. It was there too that Florentyna had stood up to stretch herself, “It’s like what my mom used to say. Sometimes you need an ogre to scare the shit outta ya, and soon you’ll be popping out magic like bam!”

Laughter could be heard from Florentyna as she said this, followed by smaller chuckles from Natalya. Who knew that fairies had a sense of humor… Let alone, had humor that was similar to humans despite being from a completely different dimension. 

“Speaking of magic…” As she said this, Florentyna had walked over to Natalya and leaned over with that same smirk on her face, “I’m just curious, again, I’m nosy and love getting to know people. I guess you can say that’s just me being me a princess after so long and wanting to get to know you, but,” She grinned, "Do you have a boyfriend?”

When hearing such a question, almost right away, Natalya could feel her eyes widen and face go bright red. It was a curse for having such damn pale skin - that whenever she was blushing, it was so obvious that she was! Let alone, how was she supposed to react to a question like that? It came out of complete nowhere!

“…No, Florentyna,” Natalya took a breath now as she crossed her arms underneath her chest, “The last time I was in a relationship was three years ago. I’m not interested in dating, or any of that business right now. Why are you asking?”

Oh… ‘Not interested’ in dating, hm. This was amusing to Florentyna as she smiled and stood up, giving a small innocent shrug, “No reason~ I guess you can say that’s just how people from my planet are. We love hearing about relationships, so I just had to ask.” 

Right… Asking about relationships because fairies loved to hear that. If that didn’t fully confirm that Florentyna was truly a fairy, Natalya didn’t know what else there was to prove. Especially since it was true, Natalya had no intention of getting a boyfriend or doing anything more than that. She was focused on not only her career but schooling in a matter of fact. 

“But-!” Despite the relationship question coming up, this didn’t stop Florentyna from continuing onwards with her speech from before, “I still think you should definitely come to Lenfia with me. Really, you’d have so much potential there. Your dad said what, you’re a prestige at your school right now? You’d get into Lenfia easily!” 

“…Who would want a fairy that doesn’t even know how to use her powers, Florentyna.” Natalya began in a blunt, unamused tone of voice. She had a fair point - she didn’t even know how to use her powers at all until being attacked earlier.

To Florentyna, this was a sign that she needed to give more convincing to the girl to get her to go. And so, with a hand up, she had snapped her fingers where what looked like a postcard formed in between her middle and index finger. This caught Natalya off guard by surprise when she saw this, but what came next made sense, “Seems I need-a convince you a little bit more. Can I at least show you what the campus is like? Maybe tell you more about it?”

Show her the campus?… How the hell was she going to show her the campus? Natalya thought to herself as she stood up, just about to open her mouth to ask the question that came in her mind. But it seemed that Florentyna had beat her to the punch. Alas, the post-card was soon dropped by the girl and landed to the ground where it had extended; revealing what looked like a portal in front of the two girls.

And this was definitely what got Natalya’s eyes to widen and jaw to drop.

“Just trust me. This is an express portal,” Florentyna began, now grabbing Natalya’s wrists to help her up from the bed to guide her towards the portal. There, she stood on top of the card with Natalya; holding onto her hand so she wouldn’t panic, “Just close your eyes and relax. I’m gonna convince you why you need to come.”

It seemed that this topic of conversation wasn’t going to stop until Florentyna got what she wanted… And so, Natalya reluctantly agreed as she did as she was told and closed her eyes. 

As the two stood over the portal, it felt as though they were slowly being lowered into the ground. It was a weird feeling at first, but what was once her small bedroom in Russia… Well, Natalya could hear birds chirping and a sun over the two. It was when she opened her eyes that she was greeted to not only a beautiful forest but a gorgeous entrance of this university that Florentyna kept talking about.

“Well then…” Florentyna cleared her throat once they were on the ground, before soon motioning over to the gates of the school, “There it is. Lenfia College for Fairies of the magical dimension."

It was… Really beautiful. Just the area radiated with positive energy that Natalya couldn’t help but to feel relaxed… And one could call it, safe. “Alright… So, what exactly goes on in it?” Natalya looked over at Florentyna, “You said it’s a magic school for fairies. I’m used to doing advanced chemistry and calculus at home, so do you do potions and physical training with your powers or something?”

“Sort of,” Florentyna began as she stood there, turning her head over to the school with a smile, “As I was explaining earlier in your family’s living room, the best of the best of all fairies come to this school, all throughout the magical universe to come to perfect their powers. Most are princesses like myself, but some are normal fairies who want to enhance their training in magic.” Well… If it was a training school for fairies, it would make sense seeing that it was the top one of the magical dimension, as Florentyna explained, “And get this. Just a mile away from Lenfia is the University for Heroics and Bravery; or as like to call it, ‘UHB’. But then, three miles away, we’re near the creepiest school for witches, Tower of the Dead for the University of Dark Arts. Aka, witches, warlocks, those people.” 

To Natalya, hearing all of this information was absolutely amazing. There were not only fairies, but there were heroes, witches, warlocks… It all was real, and she still couldn’t believe it. As she stood there, she looked at the school, just trying to imagine herself going there… Florentyna said she was supposed to leave today to get to the college... Which meant that the university was starting classes. 

If she decided to go, did that mean she would have to put a pause on her life here on Earth to attend this magic school? “I mean… Florentyna,” Natalya looked over at the other, “This is… A huge decision if I decide to go… I mean, just this morning I was talking to a schoolmate… well, more of a jerk I know, about school starting in two weeks. I just, don’t know if I can leave my life here all of a sudden.”

A large smirk formed on Florentyna’s lips once more. Gosh, anytime she did that, Natalya knew that it meant either a good or bad thing. The first time it was to say something good, the second time it was to ask a very invasive question, “I had a feeling you were going to say that, which was why I hope you don’t mind, I invited a few friends from UHB to come to your house.”

Natalya’s jaw dropped now, “You… WHAT?!”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” Almost immediately, Florentyna had waved her hands back and forth, “It’s not a group of guys, it’s just two of my friends that I’ve known since I was a baby. They’re both second years and really sweet. Plus, one of them is a prince!” Yet, in the back of her mind, there was indeed a reason why Florentyna had asked if Natalya had a boyfriend, “You’ll love ‘em. If I can’t convince you to go to Lenfia, they sure as hell will because throughout the year, UHB and Lenfia always do training sessions together. They have experience with Lenfia’s teaching too.”

There was still something that didn’t feel right about Florentyna all of a sudden inviting these guys to her place… Let alone, when did she have the time to do that? A prince, too? Did that mean he’d have a crown like Florentyna did? At that point, Natalya didn’t know what to believe anymore. She believed it was magic, but really, the reality was that Florentyna had simply been using her phone while looking over Natalya’s things. She simply didn’t notice it at all.

“With that being said,” Florentyna began with a smile and took Natalya’s hand, “Let’s head back. I’m sure they’ll be there pretty soon, and with your dad around? I hope he doesn’t mind that I invited them.”

“Oh trust me…” Natalya rolled her eyes, “There’s a reason why I asked my sister to go get him a glass of vodka, so he does calm down from all of this.”

Going back to her room was just as an easy process as it was getting to Lenfia. All the two had to do was jump right back to the portal that would take them to Natalya’s room, and within seconds they were there. Traveling from dimension to dimension was definitely something Natalya hadn’t been experienced with, seeing that the second they had come through the portal, she found herself sitting down on her bed - a bit shocked still that she just left Earth for less than three minutes.

However, it was during their time looking at Lenfia that this gave a chance for particular individuals to proceed with their hunt on finding them. 

The ogre had held onto what looked like a stone. This stone would detect any fairy power from any distance, which would lead him to the way of finding the Princess of the Sun and the earth girl. Seeing that he was transported back to the park once he returned to Earth, it took a good hour of navigating around in the dark to figure out where these fairies were located.

And all it took was for the stone in his hand to start glowing a bright light when he had been in one particular neighborhood. It was a quiet neighborhood, especially since there was no one out due to it being the evening. It was perfect timing to kill off a few little fairies. The ogre was indeed excited for this - even his monsters who were eager to find the fairies just as he wanted as well.

“Perfect…” The ogre had soon slipped the stone into its pocket when locating what looked to be a normal house. There was light inside, so that was an indicator that someone was home. 

Rather than go through the front, the ogre and his monsters had slowly gone to the back of the house. That way they could break in with surprise, and that wouldn’t give the fairies enough time to transform. Upon glancing through a window while getting to the back, all the ogre could see were two humans inside… Well, it looked like they were in the middle of talking in the dining room.

The stone said otherwise that there weren’t just humans in that house. Oh no, the ogre told himself upon approaching the back door. 

“Fairies… Do you think this Florentyna girl is telling the truth, Anya?” The older man, who seemed much calmer now looked up at his older daughter now that he got his glass of water and seemed to be drinking water to wash it all down, “I mean, you know Natya’s a smart girl. But she’s been obsessed with fairies for such a long time, maybe she’s pulling a trick on us?”

“I don’t know, papa.” Anya stood up from her chair and had been in the middle of putting away the liquor that was given to him. Afterward, she turned back to face her father, “I… actually believe Natalya. You saw that Florentyna did… She turned our home phone into a banana and head of lettuce. No one can do that—“

In the midst of their conversation, a loud knock had come from the back door. This was something that the two adults definitely weren’t expecting, which resulted in Anya to shrug, “I’ll be back,” She began, treating it as if she were about to answer it normally.

That was all until loud banging came from the door. It wasn’t just any banging… But from what Anya could see just standing feet away from the door, it was almost as if… Someone was trying to break it open? “What the hell?…” She began, though just as she was about to take another step closer to the door, that was when it happened.

All it took was for one more good hit by the ogre to break the door fully down, which had Anya’s face go pale and eyes widen in horror. Was… What was that!? She thought to herself as a loud scream came from her. This scream, in addition to the door, breaking open, being enough for the two girls upstairs to hear this.

“P-Papa, get the gun!!! Or something!!!” Anya had shrieked loudly as she slowly backed away from the door, unsure of how to even react. 

The ogre looked absolutely disgusted seeing the human, as most magical beings of the dark had towards any person who didn’t possess magic. Instead, rather than go after the young woman, the ogre growled lowly and took a step forward; his stomping being enough to get her and Natalya’s father to run into the room with an armed weapon - but even he looked shocked to do anything.

“What the hell is that!?” He had first shouted, “Anya, get away from it, now!”  


“Tell me… where the two fairies are!” Were the first words that had come from the ogre as he glared down at the girl, “Or else I’ll destroy this place until I find them!”

“ _Turn around, sweet pea.”_

The sudden new voice that came from the room had the three figures who were present, in addition to the monsters to turn around to its source. It was there that it was revealed Florentyna, who had Natalya standing just beside her. This resulted in a large grin to form on the ogre’s face before soon he had begun stomping his way towards the two girls.

“I guess someone didn’t learn their lesson from before,” Florentyna huffed, before soon holding out her hands towards the ogre to form what looked like a shield from him attacking her or Natalya. This of course, shocked Anya and her father watching the scene, but what came next was completely unexpected to everyone there,

With the barrier now up, the ogre had been in the process of trying to break it down to get to the girls. She knew she didn’t have long, and so, Florentyna had ran down the stairs and held her hands up into the air. Glowing magic had filled the area; surrounding her as her eyes were closed. And all it took was one word to result in a radiating, power energy to form around her.

“… _Charmix.”_

Within seconds of saying this one word, the glowing magic had soon formed around her body that as she took one step forward, the princess gown and tiara that was once on her head completely vanished. Instead, Florentyna now had been back to the fairy appearance that she had been in the park earlier. A sparkling orange top that was over one shoulder, a pair of shorts, knee length boots in addition to her hair being pulled down into low pigtails and a blue hairband on the top of her head. As she opened her eyes now, beautiful glittery make-up had been on her eyelids before she soon removed what looked like a ring on her finger.

This ring was enough to catch the attention of the ogre, whose attacks on the shield only increased once seeing it. 

Throwing it up into the air, this gave Florentyna a moment to watch it transform into a scepter before she soon looked over at Natalya, “I’ll handle the ogre. You get your family out of here.”

“…How?!” Natalya shot a look over at Florentyna, unsure of what she could even do, “I only know how to use knives, not my magic!” 

“Perfect. You use the knives on the monsters, and defend yourself.” There was a smile on Florentyna’s lips, almost as if she had been attempting to reassure her before jumping into the air. With her wings, she had flown above Natalya, “You can do it. You may think you can’t, but your instincts will tell you otherwise. Now go!” She began, looking over the shield that was shattering, “Cause this ogre is about to go straight for me.”

That sounded like the only plan they had because Natalya followed it right then and there. Quickly, she had run to the kitchen where she had firstly grabbed the closest knife she could find - this being a regular kitchen knife for cooking - before kicking open the front entrance of the house and calling her family over, “Papa, Anya! This way!” 

Oh, she was so glad that Dmitri was working. If her older brother was here, she was for sure that the poor man would have a heart attack!

The second the door was opened, this gave a chance for her father and sister to run out of the house, which of course was something that the monsters had noticed. Natalya had followed just behind her family members, but the second she had noticed the monsters, she stood there with her eyes widened - just, unsure of what to do. If she were to throw the knife, she’d lose her weapon. If she charged at them, well, that was posing a risk of getting herself hurt.

Meanwhile, just on the inside of the house, Florentyna had a large smile to her face as she held onto the scepter in her hands. It was clear to her that was what the ogre wanted… She had no idea what he wanted her scepter, but it was a symbol of her Kingdom - she wasn’t just going to let him have it like that.

“Come on, big boy. Show me what you got!” She had shouted, which seemed to be enough to get the ogre to come running at her. All it took was one swing with her scepter full of magic to be swung at the ogre’s direction, which soon had him flying off and hitting directly onto a bookshelf.

The second she saw this, she definitely made a mental note on how she planned on making sure to not only apologizing to Natalya, but to her family about the possible damage that may come with this fight. She’d make sure to fix it before going back to Lenfia, that’s for sure. 

While the ogre was down, Florentyna had kept her eyes on it to make sure he didn’t get up… But with being so focused on the ogre, she hadn’t even realized the monsters that did stay inside to protect their master. All it took was for a few tugs at her feet to notice them as she shrieked, “Ew!!! Oh my gosh, let go of me you creepy things!”

The more she panicked, the more it gave a chance for these monsters to indeed grab her by the feet and throw her in the direction of one of the windows near the entrance of the house. The glass had shattered at impact of course as Florentyna came flying through it; landing right onto her back as Natalya’s eyes widened seeing the fairy come out of nowhere.

“Florentyna!” Natalya had immediately dropped the weapon she had in hand; running over quickly to the other and dropping to her knees, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah yeah, I’m okay,” She waved at the other before slowly attempting to push herself up. But of course, the impact of being thrown out of a window had her body sore for a moment. 

That moment though was enough for the ogre to come walking through the door of the house; glaring right at the two girls with an angered look on his face. How much magic did it have to take to take out an ogre!? Natalya had no idea, but seeing that Florentyna wasn’t able to take it out, it seemed to have needed a lot.

But, she didn’t know what to do. Florentyna needed a moment of rest, which at that moment, had that ogre charging right at them. All Natalya could do was shut her eyes, reach over to pull Florentyna into a tight embrace to brace themselves from the impact of the ogre…

…But, nothing came.

“ _Hey, Princess Florentyna! I hope the pretty friend you were talking about is the one with the white blouse.”_

Who was that? All it took was for Natalya to open her eyes as she looks up, only to see that the ogre seemed to be held back by… Glowing rope? What the hell was that in the first place? 

“ _Yeah,_ ” Another voice came followed by the first, “And _not this large guy right here.”_

The voices that came from behind the large ogre in front of them had Florentyna huff slightly and soon, she began to push herself up from the ground, “You guys couldn’t have shown up maybe five minutes earlier!? What were you doin’, sucking each other’s dicks?!”

Hearing these words had Natalya’s eyes widen, especially coming from Florentyna. With the ogre restrained, this gave her a chance to stand up as well, where she was given a chance too see who exactly had restrained the ogre in the first place.

All of a sudden, it felt as though everything had frozen in time.

The first male was tall; pale, silvery hair, and red orbs that looked almost similar to blood. He seemed to be the one holding back the ogre with rope, while on his back he had a shield in case he needed to defend himself. Then, there was the blonde to the right of him…

…That the second she had made contact with the other male blonde, she swore she felt something hit her right then and there.

The blonde was also tall, fit… A bit on the tanner side rather than pale, but he had a large grin to his face when making eye contact with her. His eyes were sky blue, he had blonde-ashy hair and a smile that just… Wow, had her melt on the spot. In his hands, he had been holding onto what looked like a sword in addition to a shield as well; staring right back at her as if a moment of connection was being made between she and the man.

Were these the guys that Florentyna was talking about? From the hero and bravery school?

“Nah, we were playing princesses and having afternoon tea with the queen,” The blonde soon spoke out in what sounded like a terrible, English accent before dropping his weapons and jumping into the air. Of course, the longer the silver-haired man held back the ogre, the angrier it was getting with thrashing back and forth. This gave the blonde the chance to jump into the ogre’s back and well, paralyze him by putting on a electric collar that had sent bolts of lightning down the ogre’s back.

The ogre screamed of course, but the shocks were enough of an impact to get the ogre to go unconscious and drop to the ground.

Now that the ogre was unconscious, this left for the monsters. Quickly, the blonde had dropped from the ogre’s back and made his way quickly back to his sword and shield while the silver-haired man went to put some handcuffs on the ogre. 

In swift movements, the blonde had looked over at the two ladies with a smile, though was mostly staring particularly that Natalya, before swinging his sword and getting into action. With each swing, he had dodged any attacks from the monsters that were after him; cutting them through thin air to get them to vanish. 

If there was one thing at that moment Natalya could confirm, these guys were definitely the hero students. There was no other explanation… Minus the fact that she just, couldn’t stop staring at the blonde guy. Who was he?

One thing that was amazing was the fact that it didn’t take him long to take out the monsters at all. It was swift movements, swinging of the sword - it showed that he was trained really good at this school. It was once the monsters were all gone and the ogre was restrained that it gave a chance for the two men to look at the two girls to see if they were alright.

“You guys good?” The silver man had first responded before pressing a button on his shield, which immediately disappeared.

A nod came from Natalya of course, mostly because she was shocked - but as for Florentyna, she had approached both men and motioned Natalya to follow, “Thanks for the help,” She began before wrapping an arm around Natalya’s shoulder, pulling her close straight up to the two men which definitely caught the blonde off guard, “Anywhosies, these are the guys from UHB I was tellin’ you about.” She firstly motioned over to the silver-haired male, “This is Gilbert. He tries to act cool when he really isn’t,” 

“Wow.” Gilbert looked right at the fairy, clutching his chest, “So mean, so sad.”

A chuckle came from Natalya before she held out her hand, shaking Gilbert’s hand despite the comment that came from Florentyna. But Florentyna wasn’t done at all yet as she grabbed Natalya’s shoulder’s now, turning her straight to Alfred and nudging her a bit forward, “And this is Alfred. He thinks he isn’t cool ‘cause he’s a nerd, but actually he’s pretty cool. Andddd…” It was there that she let go of the girl to motion to the two of them, “We’ve known each other since we were what, babies?” 

“It’s weird,” Gilbert responded, now rubbing the back of his head with a bit of thought to his tone of voice, “Never understood it personally.”

“Yup.” Florentyna nodded, “Cause like, when you’re a baby in a royal palace, while parents are busy having meetings with other Kings and Queens of different planets, they usually throw all the babies into one room and let the nurses take care of us from there. That’s the royal life for ya.”

If there was one thing Natalya felt bad for at that moment, it was the fact that she wasn’t paying attention at all to what Florentyna was saying. If anything, it was quite opposite… And it was worse the second she had reached to shake Alfred’s hand in introduction. 

It seemed to be the same case for Alfred as well, who was… Well, absolutely speechless. Getting the call from Florentyna that she wanted him to meet a friend of hers, he wasn’t expecting for this friend to be this gorgeous. And apparently she was a fairy too?… It made the thought even better.

“Andddd this is Natalya.” Florentyna motioned the two men to her, seeing that she wasn’t talking at all after she and Alfred had finished their handshake, “I’ve been trying to convince her to come to Lenfia almost all evening, but she’s still unsure.”

“What, really?” Gilbert looked over at Natalya, a bit surprised to hear that a fairy was contemplating not going, “Lenfia is one of the top universities in the magic dimension. Considering not to go is probably the craziest thing I’ve heard in a while.”

“Agreed.” Alfred had followed-up the statement before putting his sword away. Followed by this, he looked back at Natalya and gave her a smile, “I can guarantee you that going there will change your life. Really, every fairy that graduates from there learns a lot. You’d love it. Good staff, good people, and plus, I’m sure Florentyna would take good care of you too.” 

“Of course I would!” This was something that right away, Florentyna had stood by as she looked over at Natalya, almost as if she was proud to say she’d help Natalya out. After all, the girl did rescue her earlier during the attack in the park, “Plus, UHB is only a mile away, so we can help get her through Magix too.”

“…Magix?” This was completely new to Natalya before she looked over at the other. Curious, she tilted her head slightly in confusion, “What’s Magix?”

Long stares came from the two men when hearing such a question. She… She was a fairy, right? Sure, they were on Earth, but it seemed that Florentyna had missed the important step of telling them that well, Natalya was a late bloomer. She had just found out her powers earlier that day.

“It’s the capital of the magic dimension,” Alfred responded, happy to clarify for her, “No, actually, let me rephrase that. It’s the capital city of the magic dimension. It’s also the college hub for the three top universities in Magix.”

That made a whole lot of sense… If there were different planets in the magic dimension, it would make sense too that there would be cities and towns part of each planet. It was still confusing to her, but hopefully, Natalya would be able to figure it all out.

With this being said, Gilbert had been the one to approach the ogre now who was knocked out and press his foot against its face. Yep, he was knocked out good for now. But they didn’t know how long it’d be until he’d wake up, “Yo Alfred, I think we should bounce before this guy wakes up.” 

As he said this, he had been the one to reach into his pocket and pull out what looked like a remote control. All it took was a few pressing of buttons for the ogre to soon be lifted into the air, but in case he decided to wake up and attack, the collar that was around his neck would prevent him by shocking him. 

Still, Natalya was curious to know more about what these guys exactly did, “And what do you plan on doing with it?” 

“Probably bring it to the dungeons of UHB until the headmaster gives us instructions on what to do with it.” Alfred explained, followed by reaching into his pocket and pulling out what looked like the same post-card that Florentyna had used earlier as a portal to transport them to the magic dimension. All he had done was the same thing; tossing it to the ground before a portal had opened up, which Gilbert had already waved to the two girls and began escorting the ogre through it, “The last thing we want to do is to let it go. Maybe we can figure out too why it’s been going after you too, Florentyna.”

“Thank goodness,” Florentyna sighed in relief, “Listen, I know I joke about being chased after, but I do not want to be chased after large, ugly ogres.” 

A chuckle managed to come from Alfred when he heard this before nodding in understanding. He had been just about to step into the portal himself too, but just before he did, he had stared right at Natalya once more with that same smile on his face, “Hey, Natalya, is it? I hope you do come to Lenfia, really.” He began, which on the spot, Natalya could feel herself go frozen right away… In a way, “And if you do, ask Florentyna to give you my number. I’d love to take you around to see Magix.” 

Another wave was given by him once more before he officially stepped into the portal. Within seconds of stepping inside, the portal had disappeared; leaving the two girls standing there by themselves.

If there was one thing that amazed her… It was just, Florentyna was right. There was that intense training, but it looked like it paid off for the heroes of UHB. Would that be the case for fairies at Lenfia? They were second years, so by the time she was a second year… Would she also be as strong as them?

“Well, Natalya…” Florentyna had leaned forward; a small smirk once again on her lips as she looked at the girl, “…What do you think?”

What did she think?… Well, she was mainly thinking of that Alfred guy Florentyna had introduced her to… But then there a feeling in her heart that told her something else about Lenfia. Natalya took in a breath and looked at the other before smiling herself, a true, genuine one after all of that confusion from before,

“… _I think I’ll go to Lenfia_.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've made it this far, yay! Welcome back! 
> 
> If you're a new reader, welcome! I hope you've been enjoying the story thus far. 
> 
> This is where some of the important characters come into the story. One of my favorite characters to write in this AU is definitely Florentyna (Fem!Poland). She's very preppy, pretty girl, but means well. Plus, as you can see in the chapter, she really gives no fucks about calling people out, haha.
> 
> The next chapter will be either before or after 4/5! I've been having a lot of fun writing, so maybe I'll be able to pull out another chapter before this weekend ends. We'll see!
> 
> Until then, stay magical~ 
> 
> <3


	3. Welcome to Lenfia College

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well, Natalya…” Florentyna had leaned forward; a small smirk once again on her lips as she looked at the girl, “…What do you think?”
> 
> What did she think?… Well, she was mainly thinking of that Alfred guy Florentyna had introduced her to… But then there a feeling in her heart that told her something else about Lenfia. Natalya took in a breath and looked at the other before smiling herself, a true, genuine one after all of that confusion from before,
> 
> “…I think I’ll go to Lenfia.”

The events from the previous night definitely were something that everyone didn’t know how to react. After the two specialist heroes had left, this had left Florentyna and Natalya to check in on her family to see if everyone was alright

To say the least, that next morning, a lot of cleaning had to be done in the house from that attack. But the good thing was that now Natalya’s family had fully believed the two girls when they said magic and fairies existed… Especially after seeing an ogre and monsters? There was no way that it was impossible at this point.

Natalya’s family was kind enough to let Florentyna spend the night. She was not only injured from the park but after the attacks from the Ogre, she really needed her rest. If she was determined to get herself to Lenfia that next morning, then rest was what would help her. Anya was the one to lead her to the guest room for the night before joining her father and younger sister downstairs on helping to clean up.

Well, mostly she handling the clean-up. Firstly, Anya had told Natalya to go to sleep after everything had happened. An Ogre was after her for goodness sake - the poor girl needed some rest. As for their father, he needed his rest too after the insanity of the night, so it was mutually agreed that all of them would worry about handling the bigger cleaning until the morning.

The thing was, Natalya didn’t go to sleep at all that night. When her father had left to go to bed, just before her sister had told her to go to sleep too… She had confessed to the other that she wanted to go to Lenfia. For this was completely shocking to Anya, especially since it was all of the sudden. Yesterday started off as a normal day, and now, Natalya wanted to drop her life from earth and go to a magic school for fairies? 

It was insane to her, but what had convinced her to help her sister to pack was, “ _Please, Anya. If there’s one thing that I need to figure out myself, it’s to go to this school.”_

Figuring out herself… That was a true point. After all, if an Ogre was really after Natalya because she was a ‘fairy’, then it was probably best that she get some training in order to defend herself in the future. 

The two girls had packed until 2 AM Natalya’s belongings; mostly fitting her clothes and personal items that she would need while she was there. She was welcome to come back home anytime - it was normal for any student going to college - but for now, she managed to pack the majority of her closet and some of her personal items into one large suitcase before going to bed that night.

The following morning, their father was up before anyone else after remembering the chaos that had happened the night before. Even when his eldest son had returned from work since he had taken on the night shift because ‘Natalya was sick’, Dmitri was horrified to see the mess that had happened in the house. There was damage beyond damage, and the second he had gone to ask his father what was going on, all he was told was, “Go to bed,” His father stated, “We’ll tell you later today what happened.”

That seemed to be enough to have Dmitri frown in disappointment because of it sure as hell didn’t look like everything was okay. Hell, the window in front of their house was shattered! Was there some sort of terrorist attack? He had no idea as he had all these questions while walking himself upstairs to his room; quiet knowing that Natalya and Anya were both asleep still.

It wasn’t long after Dmitri had gone to bed that the rest of the girls had woken up. In this case, Natalya had woken up to check on her suitcase, her older sister had woken up to help Natalya with last-minute packing…

…And Florentyna, being nosy as she was, found herself wandering downstairs in a completely different outfit compared to the gown and tiara she wore the night before. This time, she actually looked like a normal, human girl. Her hair was down with a side part, she had been wearing some make-up, heels, a white skirt, and a floral top. It was perfect for the summer season, yet as she stepped downstairs, she had forgotten about the mess from the night before.

She wandered through the hallways of the house to see if anyone was awake… To at least offer to help out, which of course, she eventually managed to run into Natalya’s father who seemed to be sweeping glass from the ground.

“Oh, good morning, Florentyna,” He spoke in English upon remembering she didn’t speak Russian. It wasn’t hard for him to spot her at all when she had entered the living room. Behind him seemed to be a large trash bucket where he seemed to be dumping the glass from the shattered window, “Did you sleep well?”

“I sure did, uh… Mr. Arlovsky,” Florentyna had responded since she didn’t know how to call the guy at all. Let alone, she didn’t even get his name yesterday, other than Natalya telling her she could call him by his last name.

This definitely caught the man off guard for a moment as he looked up, giving a smile to the girl. He sure treated her badly yesterday… Saying that fairies weren’t real when really, she proved him otherwise. Especially with an Ogre being after his daughter? It was a whole other story, “You can call me _Vladik_.” He began before standing up; a large crack coming from his back as he did so which made Florentyna flinch, “So, you’re going back to school today?”

Vladik… Well, at least now she got a name now. Florentyna nodded when hearing the question but soon found herself looking around the living room. The damage wasn’t that bad, yes… But to her standards, the damages were going to need a lot of repairs, “Yup… Move-in day started yesterday and ends today. Classes begin tomorrow,” She began before looking over at the older male, “Uh, Vladik? Listen, if you want, I can use a little magic to help repair some of this. I feel terrible knowing that I was part of the mess.”

“Oh no, it’s alright,” The second Vladik had heard this, he had stood up and waved a hand at her, “Trust me, right now, I’d rather _not_ see any more magic today. I’ve had enough of magic.”

That… Was a fair point, and seemed to be the expected response from any human who just discovered that magic existed. Afraid, terrified, and also not wanting anything to do with it. 

The issue with that though was that Florentyna knew exactly his life wasn’t going to disappear from any of this magic. Especially after she and Natalya had discussed her going to Lenfia… Well, there was no avoiding it now. 

And it was as if on cue that the second Vladik had said this, Natalya and her older sister had made their way downstairs with a large suitcase. This was something that Vladik had spotted right away, which he had looked over Florentyna’s shoulder with his eyebrows furrowed. What were those two girls doing?

“Natya? Anya?” He began, now putting down the broom he had in hand, “What are you girls doing? Why do you have a suitcase?”

The two girls who stood at the stairs exchanged a brief look at each other. Natalya that morning had been wearing a black skirt with a white beaded tank-top, black boots, as well as had her hair braided to the side with a black hairband on the top of her head. In addition, she still had her gifted necklace on. Her sister, on the other hand, had been wearing a white shirt, a pair of blue overalls, and had her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. To Vladik, it looked like both his daughters were going somewhere…

…When in reality, it was just one of them.

“I… Wanted to go to Lenfia, papa.” Natalya began and took in a breath as she confessed, “Anya helped me call my school and filed that I’ll be studying abroad for the next year.”

The second the man had heard this, his eyes had widened. Not in disappointment, but in anger at the two girls who had planned this stunt without consulting him? Cue the rapid Russian in anger, “Natya, Anya— How— And you two didn’t consult with me!? Anya, I’m her father. You’re her sister. You aren’t allowed to make any sort of decisions for her, she’s only seventeen!” 

“Yes, papa… I know.” Anya began back, though she stood her ground since she said she would defend her sister if need be, “But… We saw what happened yesterday. Natalya really has powers… It’s all of a sudden, yes, but I think Florentyna has a point about her learning more about herself. She should at least go to a school, with professionals, to teach her how to use her magic so in case we’re attacked like that again, she can defend herself.”

As Vladik heard this, what looked like anger that was one his face had soon subsided to… Well, sadness. Everything was completely normal until yesterday, and now he had to mentally prepare himself to send his youngest daughter off to a university in a different dimension? The look on Natalya’s face too showed that she really wanted this, resulting in him to sigh, “…you really want to go, Natya?” 

“…I do.” Natalya nodded and held onto the handle of the suitcase, “Plus, Florentyna will be there. She said she’d help me around…”  


“That’s true,” Florentyna reassured Vladik with a smile as she approached the two other girls, standing beside them now, “I’m forever in Natalya’s debt for helping me out. The least I can do is promise you too that I’ll take good care of her. Plus, if she doesn’t like it, she can easily come back here. No biggie.”

Gosh… It was such a sudden decision, that Vladik didn’t know what to do. He was technically three against one right now… So how could he argue it? If it was what Natalya wanted and it made her happy, why should he try to take that happiness from her? The broom that was in his hand was put down before he stepped out of the living room. This confused the girls at first, but seeing that he had returned with their coat had large smiles grow on their faces.

“…Alright, Natalya.” He looked over at her while putting his coat on, “But I want you to call at least three times a day.”

“Okay.” 

“I want you to maintain your grades over there just as you are here.”

“Okay, papa.” 

“Eat a balanced meal three times a day.”

“...Okay…”

“No flirting with boys.”

“…Are you saying _I_ flirt?”

“And most importantly…” Vladik sighed once his coat was on before grabbing what looked like the house keys, “…I want to see at least what this place is. Get some more information, because I’m not just going to drop you off at an institution without knowing any details about it minus what Florentyna has said,” As he said this, he looked over at Florentyna who had a large smirk on her face, “How do we get to Lenfia? Car? Train? Airplane?” 

Laughter seemed to come from Florentyna when she heard this. Wow, they all really were humans as she reached for her hand and pulled off the ring she was wearing, “No no, nothing like that."

“What about the portal?” Natalya had asked, referring to what they had used yesterday to get to Lenfia from her bedroom, “Are we going through there?”

Again, another head shake came from Florentyna before she looked at Natalya, “Nope. Only magical beings can go through the portal. If a human tried to go through it, they’d be spat out of it. So we’re going to use a little bit of my magic to get there,” As she said this, she had closed her eyes now before tossing the ring up into the air. The said ring soon had transformed into a scepter, which indeed was amazing to the three individuals who stood there, “Alright, ready to go?” 

There was no to waste if they were going to go straight to Lenfia. Seeing that everyone was ready for now, Florentyna had motioned the three to come towards her before a bright glow of magic had come from the end of the scepter. With a quick spin, all it took was for this glow of magic to surround all of the individuals before she had said aloud;

“ _To Lenfia!”_

Bright magic had filled the entire living room as everyone present soon faded into what looked like a transporting portal. In this case, they all were lowered to the ground until soon, magic and sparks of light surrounding them as they were falling… Down and down, into a pit of nothingness. As they fell, of course, Florentyna was giggling innocently while Natalya’s eyes were widened in horror. Her sister naturally had been laughing herself, indeed amazed by the magic while their father had his eyes shut tightly at the motion that came with falling.

The falling through this transporter took a good two minutes until soon, a portal at the end had opened up with a bright light. The second Florentyna had seen this, she held out her scepter towards it which resulted in another bright light to bounce off of it, now having everyone land on their feet easily to meet a bright sun and a cooling breeze from the fresh air.

As they all opened their eyes to see the sight of it, everyone was shocked. They were a good mile away from the school, but the university was there in all its glory… Sparkling in beauty, a campus where floods of teenage girls had been entering to check-in, butterflies and beautiful trees… It was absolutely amazing.

“Holy shit…” Vladik couldn’t help but say in his native tongue while standing there - absolutely amazed at the sight, “It’s… It’s so beautiful here.”

“Right?” Natalya had looked over at her father, indeed glad to see that he was just as shocked as she was when Florentyna had first shown her the area, “It’s amazing.”

“Talk about amazing with a capital 'A',” Florentyna smiled as she began walking forward, “Come on, I’ll lead you guys to the entrance.”

Walking to the said entrance gave a chance for all three of them to see the beauty that came from just the world itself. It looked like any other world, but the only big difference was that there was an energy of good power radiating around the scenery. It was as if the world welcomed them, which Natalya knew, she had to have been making a good decision if this was the feeling she’d be waking up to every morning here.

As they were walking, Anya as well found herself staring at the school in amazement from a distance. Not even her university looked this beautiful! “It’s so gorgeous, I wish colleges on our planet were just as beautiful too… It makes college in Russia look lame!”

“Well, I’m curious to know more about how the admissions process works,” Vladik began as he looked over at Florentyna, this being a question for her as they continued walking towards the school. He, after all, had gone through the process of college with two out of three children, so he didn’t know what would be different in a magic university than a normal one, “Do they need transcripts? Letters of recommendation?” 

As he had asked these questions, the more he continued to walk ahead as Florentyna tried to think of an answer to those questions, “I’d say it’s quite similar. For me, since I was a princess, I was guaranteed admission through my mom when I was younger. So when I turned seventeen, I got to go. But, they did need my academics and stuff from my other schools—“

In the midst of their conversation, Florentyna had managed to catch up to Vladik as they talked. However, as they walked, what no one had expected was for something to come up. In this case, as Vladik had been walking, he thought he had been walking normally through thin air…

…That was until something invisible had stopped him from walking.

The older male had run right into the invisible wall - unaware that it was there in the first place, “What the hell?” He had asked, putting his hands against it as if he was trying to push himself through, “I can’t go through. What is this? An invisible wall?” 

An invisible wall?… That didn’t make sense at all to Natalya. Instead, she had caught up to her father and simply held her hands out. There was no wall there for her, and she was able to walk through without any sort of issue, “What wall, papa?” She began, standing right in front of him, “There’s no wall here.”

“Yeah, there’s no wall there,” Anya agreed since she didn’t see anything. But of course, as she walked up towards Natalya’s direction, it was just the same for her. She had walked straight into what seemed to be an invisible barrier as she paused; pressing her hands against it in frustration, “Hey! What is this? Why can’t I go through?” 

Now Natalya was even more confused. While her father and sister stood there, she walked back and forth between the path. There wasn’t any invisible wall at all… Well at least for her, that wasn’t the case at all as she frowned, “Where? I can’t feel anything.”

“They’re right, Natalya.” Florentyna began, a bit nervously now because she had forgotten about one important thing which resulted in everyone to stare right at her, “Listen, I’ve never had to deal with humans from Earth before, but there is a wall. It’s a wall for only magical beings to get through,” She explained, now motioning to Anya and Vladik, “They’re not magical beings, so they can’t get in. But for you Natalya, and myself, we both are magical beings. So we’re permitted access.” 

That would make sense… At least, for Vladik it made sense. When it came to universities, they were striving to keep the safety of their students in check. Plus, he and Anya weren’t magical at all unlike Natalya, who could go in easily. 

Florentyna held her hands out and soon, a glow of magic once more came to reveal the barrier to the humans to show that she was telling the truth. When the barrier was exposed, Natalya had again walked through it… Which it had opened to her easily, leaving the two humans to stand there confused, “I’m sorry I forgot to mention it, but I think this is as far I can take you guys for now. It’s not me, it’s just the school wanting to make sure everyone stays safe, ya know?”

“That would make sense…” Vladik looked up at the barrier with a small sigh before turning his eyes over to the direction of where the school was, “At least the school is protecting its students. If I know that Natalya will be safe here with these barriers, I can at least sleep peacefully at night.” 

There was a nod of agreement that came from Anya, since her father did have a point. Natalya would be safe, so there was nothing they needed to worry about, “Yeah… And I’m sure Natya’s going to have fun, papa… does that mean this is goodbye for now?”

As Natalya heard this, she had dropped her suitcase right on the spot and had stepped through the barrier. Firstly, to indeed give a hug to her sister - a tight one - to show the appreciation she had for her helping her out, “Thank you for helping me, big sestra,” She whispered before pulling back to look at her father, who seemed just upset at the idea of dropping off Natalya then and there.

Once she pulled back, Natalya had approached her father to pull him into a tight embrace, which the older male did not hesitate to pick up the girl and give her a tight squeeze back. Vladik was indeed very sad to see her go, but he told himself again that if this was what she wanted, then he would let her do it, “Be a good girl for me, Natalya. Alright? And if you have any problems… well, I’d say we’re close, but technically we’re a whole other dimension away…. But call me, okay?” 

“I will.” It was as Natalya said this that her father had let her go, resulting in Florentyna to wrap an arm around the girl with a large smile on her face, “…And tell Dmitri too what happened. I know he’s going to be upset because I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye, but I’m sure you can explain to him and he’ll understand.”

“Eh…” Anya couldn’t help but chuckle as she ran a hand through her hair, “We’ll see. We know how he’s very sensitive.”

“…Yeah… I know,” Natalya sighed, since well, it was true. Her older brother was a very sensitive guy, and he loved her and Anya very much. If someone had happened and he wasn’t told of it, the poor guy definitely was going to need a lot of hugs that evening from the family.

Seeing that the goodbyes were taken care of, Florentyna had cleared her throat and began pulling Natalya towards the direction of the barrier, “Oh, before we go, I should send you guys home, right? Silly me,” She began, letting go of the other girl now as she held onto the scepter from before. With this being said, both Anya and Vladik had stood beside each other as Natalya gave them a small smile.

“I love you guys,”

“We love you too, Natalya.”

Who knew that she would be beginning a journey of college a whole year early? If anything, Natalya didn’t expect it at all. She was planning to spend the next two weeks of her summer vacation mentally preparing to go back to her normal life of school… But since meeting Florentyna, that has definitely all changed.

It was crazy how little time it took for a life to change all of a sudden.

“Next stop, Earth!” Florentyna had held the scepter into the air, soon resulting in a large glowing orb to form on the end of it once more, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you feel like you’re in first class of a plane. Safe travels!”

With one swing, the glowing orb soon had floated on top of Anya and Vladik where the light had formed around their bodies. Natalya watched as this process took place, and soon enough, the two had faded and were transported back to the living room right on earth. 

This was… Really happening, Natalya thought to herself seeing that now her family members had been sent back to Earth. She knew she would need a while to process it since she hadn’t lived away from home before. But, she knew she would be able to get through it. As her older sister told her when they were packing the previous night, this was the start of something new and an opportunity she couldn’t say no to.

“Now,” Florentyna had tossed the scepter into the air, which soon transformed back into an innocent ring. She had taken the ring and slid it onto her finger before looking at Natalya, her smile still present since well, she was excited to show the other around, “Shall we go make our grand entrance?” 

“I don’t know what you mean by 'grand entrance',” Natalya chuckled as she grabbed onto the handle of her suitcase, turning to face the school once more, “But sure, let’s go…” 

If there was one thing about Natalya, she was well, very nervous. The last time she had experienced life being a new student was when she had transferred to her high school. It was a private school, but being the new student wasn’t the funniest time at all. If anything, she didn’t have a lot of friends on earth. She had a lot of acquaintances, but people at her school always saw her as the weird, quiet girl due to her personality.

And it wasn’t that she was trying to be weird… It was just that she was more of an introvert than an extrovert. She was quiet, yes, but that didn’t mean she’d purposely avoid talking to anyone. It was amusing to her that people thought she was creepy, because oh, creepy was her older sister. Not her at all. 

But, that didn’t neglect the fact that she was nervous. As she and Florentyna walked towards the school, the more of a chance Natalya had to see all of the other students going through the gates with their luggage and belongings to check-in. She thought college move-ins were insane, especially after dealing when her brother went off to college… But this was a whole other story with magic school.  


“I’m so nervous…” Natalya began as she and Florentyna continued to walk down the hills of the forest they were coming through. The line seemed to be pretty long to get inside the campus to check-in, which was worse because that would make her nerves even worse.

Florentyna though was prepared as she slid her arm through Natalya’s; guiding her toward the line to go inside, “Relax. You’re going to be alright,” She reassured the other, “Magic school is just like a normal school, but the only difference is that we all have magic powers. We’re all human and normal people.” 

“Right,” Natalya looked over at Florentyna with her brows risen, “Normal people that can pop wings out of their back and transform into pretty outfits, be badass and use their powers to fight.”

This resulted in a chuckle to come from Florentyna, because well, she wasn’t wrong at all. Upon approaching the line, this gave Natalya a chance to have a peek inside the main campus of the university… Which was just as gorgeous as it was outside. Not only was it a beautiful field, but there were picnic tables set up, large trees, a beautiful fountain and a large staircase that seemed to lead to the entrance of the school.

As they stood in line, it seemed to go by pretty quickly since there was more than one staff member helping students check-in, “You’re going to love it here, trust me,” Florentyna reassured her once more, though as she said this, she caught a glance of one particular staff member which had her frown on the spot, “…Except her, you’re not going to like her.”

“…Huh?” Natalya turned in the direction of where Florentyna was looking at, “Where?”  


“Her.” With her hand motioned towards the entrance, there had been a tall blonde standing at the entrance. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, she had worn red-rimmed glasses, a white blouse, a black shirt and… At first Natalya thought she saw a riding crop, but really, it had been a black wand attached to her side on a belt, “That’s Glynda, Head of Discipline,” Florentyna began now, “She is horrifying. And in a bad need of a huge make-over.”

This was confusing to Natalya… Why was Florentyna talking bad about a faculty member all of the sudden? But of course, upon watching, she could see why.

A girl just about their age had approached this Glynda person who had been holding onto a suitcase and seemed to be pretty nervous. Glynda of course, looked right at the girl with a stern look on her expression while holding onto a clipboard and a pen, “Your name, young lady?”

“E-Eleanor Delova,” The girl began with the clear nervousness in her tone of voice, which indeed was something that the older woman had noticed, “M-My father sent in my registration form a month ago and I received confirmation that it was all set. I should be on the list.”

“Oh, well I hope you are miss.” Glynda had pushed up her glasses now, looking over at the list in her hands, “You do know what happens if there’s an intruder here posing as a student, yes?”

“N-No ma’am…” The girl looked at the faculty member with a bit of fear.

“You get turned into a slimeball and sent to whatever planet you came from,” It was a clear, strict answer that had even Natalya choke on her breathing when she heard this. The woman wasn’t serious, was she? “Ah yes, Elenor Delova. You’ll be living on the third floor with the rest of the first-year students,” She looked down at the girl, “You’re all checked in. Go to the front of the school to pick up your dorm keys, and you should be all set.” 

“T-Thank you, ma’am.” The girl gave a nod of understanding before scattering off, which resulted in the next person in line to approach Glynda.

Wow… This woman really did not hesitate to tell students scary things if they were doing something bad. Let alone, threaten on the spot to turn them into a slimeball if they weren’t on the list? This made Natalya realize that not only were she and Florentyna close to getting to her, but the fact that well…

“…Florentyna, I’m not on the list,” Natalya shot a glare right at the other, “What are we going to do if she sees my name isn’t on the list? She’s going to turn me into a damn slime ball and send me back to earth.” 

“Shh, don’t worry girlfriend,” Florentyna insisted as she soon snapped her fingers, which resulted in what looked like an envelope forming in her hands. What the hell was that Natalya wondered as soon Florentyna began to rip it up. Now, she was confused, “You see, the Princess of Colisto is a family friend of my parents. She’s another fairy, but she had to drop for the year because she decided to do homeschool instead. Don’t know why, but anyway, she gave me this letter to give to the Headmistress.” As she finished ripping up the letter, soon, it had vanished in her hands, “To un-enroll herself. I’m just not going to give the letter, and you’re going to take her place. Plus, no one knows what she looks like, so it’s perfect.”

As the letter was getting ripped up, Natalya could feel her anger beginning to build up inside her just a bit. Did Florentyna not realize what would happen if they got caught? Let alone, if the faculty members had figured out that she wasn’t this Princess? “So, you want me to pose as this princess, and take her spot.”

“Yup.” 

“And what if we get caught?” 

“Sheesh Nat, do you _always_ get so worried about everything?” Florentyna had reassured her by patting her back, which it was clear that there was annoyance in the other girl’s eyes, “That’s why we’re not going to get caught. It isn’t illegal unless you’re caught.” 

That… Was a fair point that Florentyna had. If there was one thing she grew up too learning, was that a person would only get in trouble if they were caught. Still, growing up with an overprotective father, she hated the idea of lying. And if they were caught? Well, she didn’t know what to do other than know that the faculty would do much worse to her than just turn her into a slimeball.

There was no time to waste at that point. She couldn’t convince Florentyna otherwise due to the fact that the line was drawing closer to Glynda… Which by the time Natalya was to speak out to the other, she froze mid-spot seeing the shadow of someone tall over her.

All she had to do was look up, where green-orb eyes in between the red frames of a pair of glasses glaring right down at her. There were a lot of things that Natalya was afraid of… And well, the fact that Glynda was so intimidating made her envious. She wished she was that intimidating with others.

“Long time no see, Miss G!” Florentyna had spoken out right behind Natalya with a smile on her face. There, she had wrapped an arm around Natalya, which got the girl to flinch at first while the faculty member examined the too, “Have a good summer?” 

“Yes… Because I got to get away from you and the rest of the immature fairies in this university. It wasn’t long enough from you, Ms. Łukasiewicz.” Glynda had spoken out, clearly annoyed when Florentyna had spoken. This was something interesting to Natalya to hear - was Florentyna a troublemaker? She had no idea, “Not after the little ‘incident’ last year. I don’t know how your parents convinced the school board to let you repeat your first year - it’s beyond me.”

“Well, I mean…” Florentyna giggled as she leaned forward innocently, “My father did donate that new potions lab for the college.”

Silence. There was a long silence that came from Glynda before she shook her head. Yet, something managed to catch Natalya’s attention even more… Florentyna was repeating her first year? She had no idea and had thought that she was at least in her second year… But if there was an incident, did that mean she had failed her courses to the point where she had to start all over again? 

“Anyway…” Glynda had cleared her throat, much rather not wanting to get into any more detail about the said incident from the year before. She looked over at the girl beside Florentyna, not recognizing her at all, “Who’s your friend?”

“Princess Brenda of Colisto,” Florentyna had responded, watching as Glynda had turned her head towards the clipboard to see if the name was on the list.

It took a moment or two, but once she had located the names, Glynda had used her pen to check off Florentyna’s and ‘Brenda’s’ name, “Right here, Princess Brenda of Colisto.” She looked up at the two, while Natalya stayed quiet because she refused to speak then and there, “You both are checked-in. Please go to the front to pick up your room keys, and you’ll both be on the first floor with the rest of the first years.”

“Cool beans! Thanks Miss G!” With a grin, Florentyna had grabbed onto Natalya’s arm and quickly pulled her away from the older woman. The sooner they were to get away from that woman, the sooner they could get to their dorm and not have to worry about seeing any more faculty members.

It seemed that escaping faculty members though would be deemed impossible. After picking up the keys to their room, both girls were handed an information flyer of all first-years required to stay on the ground until the faculty had finished checking in everyone as they would be a few announcements to the first years. 

“And here we are, hoping that we could go actually unpack…” Florentyna sighed as she looked at Natalya, which she couldn’t help but notice the worried look on her face. Was she still worried about getting caught? “Girly, relax. Everything’s going to be fine. Plus if something happens, I’ll go down with you and take responsibility.”

Florentyna would really have her back like that? Wow, Natalya was surprised to hear that. Usually, it was her family having her back, so she wasn’t used to hearing that much support before. Not that she was complaining, but it was a nice change of scenery for it. 

Alas, just as they were instructed to do, the two girls indeed stayed put and waited for the check-in process to come to an end. Not only them, but a majority of the first years too who were waiting, which seemed to be a good two-hundred of them waiting right at the entrance of the campus. Yes, it was crowded, but Natalya understood why the faculty wanted all first-years to be present during this time.

In front of the staircase that led to the entrance of the school seemed to be a podium with a microphone. There, some of the faculty members who had already finished checking in the upperclassmen had already gone to sit down, seeing that they were done with their tasks, now waiting for the other faculty to finish up handling the first years.

It took about a good hour or so, which was indeed boring for both Natalya and Florentyna… But eventually, soon all of the arriving new students were checked in, and no one was turned into a slimeball. 

The same faculty member from before who had checked them in, Glynda, was the first to take the stage as she stepped up the stairs and stood in front of the podium. It seemed to be that the faculty members were waiting on one other person… Perhaps the headmistress? Natalya didn’t know, but what she could tell was that Glynda had a reason to be standing there.

“Thank you ladies, for your patience during this check-in process.” Glynda had first spoken into the microphone before clearing her throat and taking out what looked like a small sheet of paper to read from, “As we wait for the headmistress to come out and introduce herself to you all, there are a few guidelines that I want to run with all you first years. First of all,” She began, which had Natalya and Florentyna exchange a look at each other, prepared for a possible lecturing, “Our code of behavior. The first rule is you must follow all of the rules in the code of behavior. This code includes no disrespect, no harassment, no hazing, no using magic against one another, and especially cheating of any kind is prohibited and will get you expelled immediately from the university.”

These rules sounded like the stereotypical ones students would hear for any university, Natalya thought to herself while listening to the woman speak. It made sense why they had the rules - it was similar to her own high school already.

“In addition to this,” Glynda only continued with her small speech as she took a glance down at her paper, “If you break the rules once, you will be turned into a frog. If you break the rules twice, your magic privileges will be suspended. If you break the rules three times, you will be immediately considered for being expelled from the university.” 

The way she said it was indeed harsh. Even Natalya couldn’t help but notice the fear in all of the other first years’ eyes when she had said this. But what Glynda had said next came completely off guard.

“Isn’t that right, _Princess Florentyna?”_ The older woman shot a look right at Florentyna and Natalya; specifically glaring at the girl who was dressed in pink, “If you want to hear her experience of having all of those guidelines enlisted on her for _blowing up the potions lab!-“_ The way Glynda said this showed that the woman was angry… But Natalya was mainly shocked that Florentyna pulled a stunt like that, “I’m sure she’d be happy to share her story about using restricted magic, which is why her family was generous enough to donate us a new lab. This leads into the second rule from the code of behavior; no unsupervised magic whatsoever.”

Glynda had gone onwards with explaining the rules, which of course, Florentyna didn’t seem to be phased at all when being called out like that… Especially since well, everyone had been staring at her in shock. Even Natalya was shocked.

“…Did you really do that?” Natalya had whispered in a low tone so no one would hear, “Florentyna?…”

“…Yeah.” Florentyna let out a nervous hint of laughter as she reached behind her to rub her neck, clearly unsure of how to explain herself because… Well, it was really bad, “Listen, I was trying to create a new shade of pink for a healing potion. It just, kind of backfired and well… I’m grateful the headmistress let me have a second chance of repeating my first year.”

That was astonishing to her. From what Natalya knew already about Florentyna was that the girl knew how to fight. There was no doubt about that, but the fact that she managed to blow up an entire potions lab? Wow… That screamed strong magic to her right there. 

“You may think these rules are harsh, but here at Lenfia, we believe discipline is the best training any fairy is going to ever get,” Glynda further explained onwards, “Because once you graduate, you are on your own fighting and battling creatures. Our staff will not be there to protect you, which is why it’s important you know what you’re doing when you’re in battle… Speaking of battle,” She had turned over the sheet of paper she had been reading from, “The third rule is to stay away from the University of Dark Arts over at the Tower of the Dead. We have no punishments if you do because those witches and warlocks hunt on fairies,” She explained, “If you think turning into a frog is bad, just imagine the terrible things those witches will turn you into if they find out you’re a fairy.”

“ _Oh Miss Glynda, would you stop scaring the poor girls.”_

The new voice was something unexpected that had come from behind the blonde who stood at the podium. This definitely caught the crowd of first years’ attention as they all looked over to see not only the faculty member of the college standing up in respect, but it seemed that there was a middle-aged woman standing right behind her. 

This woman had been wearing professional attire for any faculty member, with a dark green pencil skirt, a matching blazer, a white blouse and a pair of white heels. In addition, her brown hair had been pulled back into a bun while she wore white gloves and white tulip earrings. 

Glynda seemed to back off right away the second this woman had made an appearance. Maybe she was someone important? Natalya asked herself this as she looked up at this woman who soon cleared her throat and began. 

“Welcome all to Lenfia College for fairies,” The woman spoke with a smile on her face, indeed happy to see the large class of first years. It always made her happy to see the new faces that are to step onto the campus, really, “My name is Radella, and I am the headmistress of this institution. You’ll be seeing my face quite a lot these next three years during your time here at Lenfia,” She began, “I am not only a former alumnus of Lenfia, but I am also a fairy godmother and was a guardian fairy for the Company of Light over fifteen years ago. It makes me so happy to see all your new faces on our beautiful campus.”

As Natalya looked up and listened to the woman, there was something about her that felt so… Radiant. Powerful. It showed that she truly was an experienced fairy. If she said she was a fairy godmother, then that would make sense as to why she just glowed with such positive energy.

“I hope you’re all looking forward to this upcoming school year because the faculty and I have worked together this summer to prepare the first-year program to make sure it’s at its very best. I want you all to have a good experience here during your first year,” Headmistress Radella had only continued on with her speech, “You may all be fairies, but all of you come from different backgrounds. Some of you will fight evil, some of you will grant wishes, and some of you are Princesses who will return to your planets as guardian fairies. That is why we’ve adjusted the program to suit your needs and make sure you get the best training possible. But our mission at Lenfia is the same as it’s been for the last three hundred years; to help each of you become the very best fairy you can be.”

At least there was a bit of positivity during this time, and less of negativity with Glynda’s presence. As Radella looked over the fairies that were present in the audience, she could see all of their smiling faces that it made her feel honored to know they decided to attend the college. However, something in the audience radiated powerful energy…

…A powerful, positive energy that she couldn’t help but pause mid-sentence when she felt it. 

Perhaps amongst their class, they had a student who was meant to go there, she thought to herself as she looked down and recognized some of the familiar faces. She indeed recognized Florentyna, but as for the girl next to her with the blonde hair and violet-blue eyes… She had no who she was. 

That girl’s face reminded of someone whom she did know in the past, though.

“With that being said, I don’t want to take more of your time since all of you ladies have been patient enough,” Radella had led into the conclusion of her speech, “You all are dismissed to go to your suites and meet your roommates. Remember everyone, let’s make this a great school year and we all look forward to getting to know each and every one of you. Make this your opportunity to build up your powers to evolve in the future.”

Being dismissed was probably the best thing that the entire audience had heard as all of the first years soon began to scramble inside the university to check into their rooms. Of course, Natalya had followed Florentyna mainly, since she had no idea where to go or what to expect other than she was on the third floor with the rest of the first years. 

The hallways of the college were large and long… Almost as if they were enchanted in away. It made sense seeing that it was a magic school, after all. As they walked, this gave Natalya a chance as well to see what of the school really entailed, “They really strive to help you out, hm? What do you think you’re going to be in the future?”

“Well, I’m a princess,” Florentyna walked right beside Natalya, mainly leading her to the hallways of the first-year dorms, “So I’m planning on training to become a guardian fairy for my planet.”

That’s interesting… It seemed that Florentyna had a path set for herself already. As for Natalya, she had no idea. All she was trying to figure out was how to use her powers in the first place. Once she did, maybe she’d have a better understanding of what type of fairy she wanted to be. 

The walk to the suite wasn’t long at all and easy for them to navigate too. Seeing that it matched to the numbers on their keys, Florentyna right away spotted it as she saw she and Natalya were indeed rooming together, “Sweet! Looks like we’re going to be suitemates, but not roommates.”

“…Not…” Natalya rose a brow while watching Florentyna in the process of unlocking the door, “Roommates?”

“Yup,” As Florentyna said this, she had pushed open the door to reveal an indeed small cute suite. There was a living room, a kitchen, dining space and three bedrooms present with names outside the door. She of course spotted her name on one of the doors right away before approaching it to unlock it while Natalya closed the main door, “I got a single this year. Last year my suitemates did not know how to clean up after themselves, so I decided to do suite living again, but paid a little extra to get my own room. My father already had all of my things delivered here too.”

The door of the bedroom was soon unlocked, which allowed for both Natalya and Florentyna to walk in. To say the least, Natalya was amazed to see just how big of a room it was. For a college too? She thought the dorm her older brother had when he went to college was small, so she imagined all dorms to be as small.

That didn’t seem to be the case at all for those in the magical dimension.

“This room is huge…” Natalya couldn’t help but comment as she looked around; admiring the beauty of the room. 

It really did scream that the room belonged to a princess. With this in mind, this made Natalya realize that she actually had a roommate while Florentyna got the single. There were three rooms in the entire suite - so it made sense that was the case.

Natalya stepped out of the room and wandered out to the suite so she could get a better look at things. From what she could tell, a lot of things were unpacked already. Did that mean her and Florentyna’s other suite mates had already moved in and unpacked? And there she was with only a suitcase… She didn’t bring anything at all to contribute to the suite.

From the side of her eyes, Natalya did see, well, ‘Brenda’s’ name on one of the door names. Did that mean that it was supposed to be the other girl’s room who didn’t come? Well, it looked like it was hers now as she approached the door to open it and step inside.

The first thing she had noticed was the fact that the room was very big. Big enough that maybe even a third person could stay in there, but for now, it served as a double. 

As she walked in, Natalya mainly took note of the decorations that seemed to be on one side of the room versus the other side that seemed to be bare. She assumed that to be her side, but she couldn’t help but to take note that there were a lot of floral decorations and plants on the other side. 

Maybe she was living with a vegan, she thought to herself as she took a step forward. Yet, as she did so, she hadn’t realized what looked like a stem had been on the ground because almost immediately, what sounded like a loud cry came from behind her.

“ _Ow!!!”_

The new voice caught Natalya off guard as she gasped and held onto her chest; shooting a glare right at the direction of… What looked like to be a talking plant? When she realized what it meant by ouch, she looked down at her feet and panicked; stepping off of the stem, “Oh, I’m sorry—“ She started off in a panic, “I didn’t see you there-“

“ _He’s my latest creation.”_

A soft voice came ahead of her which resulted in Natalya looking up. There, she had seen another girl who seemed to be in the process of watering a few plants. Her hair was long, brown, and had been parted into two low pigtails with braids. She had been wearing a yellow dress, a jean jacket, as well as a pair of sandals. 

Was this her roommate? 

“You created…” Natalya motioned her hand over to the plant, “…A talking plant?”

“Isn’t it amazing?” The girl only continued as she placed the watering can down onto a small table in the corner. As she did so, she had approached Natalya with a smile on her face, clearly showing she wasn’t upset, “I have a theory, and my theory is that if there are more plants that talk, then deforestation will stop.” That was a very unique theory to have, Natalya thought to herself before the girl had approached her and held out her hand, “Hi, I’m Tatyana. Fairy of nature.” 

Upon seeing the hand being held out to her, Natalya took this as her chance to reach out and shake the other’s hand in introduction, “Oh, I’m Nataly—“ Wait, shit. She forgot for a second that she wasn’t supposed to be sharing her real name with anyone. As she said this, she coughed, which indeed startled Tatyana, “—Brenda. My name is Brenda, Princess of Colisto.” 

That was a close save, she thought to herself as the two shook hands. The last thing she needed was to accidentally give away the plan that Florentyna seemed to prepare for them… But if it was revealed, well, Florentyna was going down with her, that’s for sure.

“ _Did I hear talking plants_?” 

Another voice had filled the room from the entrance of the door, resulting in both Natalya and Tatyana to turn their heads around to make eye contact with another, short-haired blonde. In this case, she had been wearing a white button-up shirt, pair of jeans, and seemed to have been holding onto a suitcase. 

“You sure did,” Tatyana responded as she looked over at the door when seeing the new individual. Seems that this was the fourth roommate out of the five who lived there, “I’m Tatyana.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Tatyana,” The short-haired woman looked over at Natalya now with her light blue eyes while smiling at their direction, “I’m Monika. Looks like I came in at a good time. Fairy of all technology you can think of,"

A fairy of technology?… Now that was absolutely amazing to Natalya as she stood there. But the longer she stood there, the more she realized that Monika seemed to be waiting for her name, “Oh shoot, sorry,” She began with a nervous chuckle, “My name is Brenda, Princess of Colisto.” 

Princess of Colisto… This was indeed amusing to Monika as she stood there, “Wow, what a coincidence. My family went there this summer because we heard of the beaches. My older brother works for a royal family, so we were able to land ourselves some tickets to get ourselves there. Pretty nice and relaxing…Didn’t know people in Colisto had accents like you, though.”

Accents? Well, there was a reason for Natalya’s accent, which mainly was the fact that she had grown up in Russia. Sure, she had spent some of her life in America, so she didn’t have as heavy as an accent as her father did so people could understand her - but it was clear that English wasn’t her first language. They were all lucky her accent was small and not heavy, “Y-Yeah, haha… We do have really nice beaches,” Natalya began nervously since she had no idea what Colisto was. Let alone, she didn’t know that they had beaches, but she did what she couch at that moment and that was to play along and act like she knew what she was talking about. 

“Ooh, are we doing introductions?” The familiar voice of Florentyna’s came from her room as she peeked her head out to see not only Natalya, but two other girls that she hadn’t met at all. The second she stuck her head out though, almost immediately, the two other fairies recognized Florentyna on the spot, “I’m Florentyna, Princess of Solis, the fairy of the sun.”

“…So you’re the infamous fairy here,” Monika began, a bit hesitant to approach Florentyna. It seemed to be the same case with Tatyana, because well, all of them were first-years who were at the announcing ceremony held by the headmistress and Miss Glynda… Which meant that they heard everything about what happened the year before, “You’re the one who blew up the potions lab last year.” 

“ _That seems to be the word on the street.”_

A click of the door managed to catch everyone’s attention now. As the four girls looked over, they this time had been greeted by another girl who was on the shorter end. She had long black hair, brown eyes, had been wearing a long-sleeve shirt with pink flowers decorated along the edges of it, as well as a brown skirt and a pair of black boots. 

“Listen,” The girl began as she stood in front of the door. Beside her, there seemed to be a variety of… Instrument cases that were packed up beside her, “If you plan on conducting experiments in the suite, at least give us a heads up beforehand so we can gather our precious belongings and run.”

The second the group of girls had heard this, Natalya, Monika, and even Tatyana had begun to laugh at this - because well, this new girl had a fair point. Florentyna, of course, wasn’t laughing as she realized it was a joke; now crossing her arms and letting out a small huff in annoyance. 

“Hey!” Florentyna turned her head away, “It was in the name of fashion.”

“Says the one who looks like she’s from a fashion magazine.” The girl continued in a soft tone before chuckling, “Take that as a compliment. I’m saying you’re really pretty and I love your skirt. Anyway, my name is Mei. I’m the fairy of music, as you can see with my instruments here,” While saying this, she motioned over to the cases beside her. 

So they really were instruments… This truly amused Natalya, but also in the back of her mind she hoped that Mei wasn’t the person who played their instrument very late at night. Her family once had a neighbor who played the trumpet when people were trying to sleep in the neighborhood. To say the least, it wasn’t a fun time at all. 

“But, I’m curious now,” Monika had looked over at Florentyna, still intrigued by the story that was told earlier by the Head of Discipline, “Did you manage to actually figure out how to create this new shade of pink?”

“Nope!” Florentyna smiled, but as she said this she brushed her hair behind her ear almost proud and determined to do so, “But when I do, it’s going to be the newest shade I’ll send to all the fashion magazines in Solis to copyright under my name! I’m thinking of calling it, ‘Rosaline’.” She began, resulting in everyone to stare at the other as if she was crazy. But then again, this was expected as part of Florentyna’s personality.

Natalya already learned this just spending a whole day with her that she was very bubbly and happy most of the time.

“Anyway, I was going to ask if any of you guys wanted to go out and get something to eat after all this checking in,” Florentyna proposed while she stood at the entrance of her room, “I know Brenda would be down for it, but how about it? We can all go into Magix and get some pizza, maybe get to know each other a bit since, after all, we’re all technically going to be living with each other for the next three years.”

“I’d be down for it,” Tatyana agreed with Florentyna’s suggestion as she stepped outside so she could join the rest of the group, “I’ve been unpacking all afternoon. I’m starving.” 

“Not a bad idea at all,” Mei followed-up with the statement before beginning to move some of her belongings into her own shared room. From what could be observed, it seemed that she’d be rooming with Monika, “When I was driving here, downtown Magix seems to have a lot of shops we can visit. And they give us discounts too for being college students.” 

It seemed that all of these girls had an experience when it came to Magix… Well, so far anyone from the magic dimension knew what Magix was. First, it was Florentyna, then the specialist heroes she met, and now all of her new suite mates seemed to be aware of it at all. So while Natalya stood there in the middle of their conversation of going to Magix for pizza, her thoughts made her ask aloud, “…What’s Magix like?”

All of the girls who had been chatting looked right in the direction of Natalya, almost as if she had been joking. She had to have been joking… Right? Monika tilted her head and asked the other, indeed mostly shocked to hear this, “You… You don’t know Magix?”

“No no, I mean-“ Natalya immediately rose her hands up innocently. Shit, she had to stop acting like an Earthling for once, “-I know Magix, but I’ve never been. I guess you can say living in a palace for so many years you just, don’t get a chance because of isolation.”

“Wow… That sucks.” Mei began, a bit surprised to hear that was the case for the girl. 

For one thing, Florentyna was indeed amazed at how well Natalya had been playing off the role. She seemed to have the perfect responses to any question, while also having the good questions that would let her learn more about the magic dimension. Seeing that the topic of Magix was something big for Natalya wanting to know, Florentyna cleared her throat and went to go grab her coat, “Well, if you guys are ready to go, I’m pretty sure the next bus to the city leaves in fifteen minutes.” 

It seemed that among the group that only Florentyna and Tatyana were the ones who had fully unpacked, leaving Monika, Natalya, and Mei to worry about packing for later in the evening once they were to return. If they were to catch that bus in fifteen minutes, it was best that they go now with knowing that the university hall was huge in addition to the campus. It’d take them a good ten minutes to get outside. 

And so, they all left with that mindset. As they walked through the hallways of the dormitory, through the school, and down to the campus, this gave them all a chance to talk amongst each other and get to know one another. As Florentyna had said, they were all going to be living with each other for the next three years of their time training as fairies. 

The group managed to make it right on time to the bus stop that was located right outside Lenfia’s campus gates. Once they did, they all had climbed on board and took their seats. It seemed as though they weren’t the only students planning to go into Magix that evening, especially since there were more students of Lenfia on board as well.

“So Brenda,” Tatyana had spoken while she had sat next to Natalya, “You’ve never been to Magix at all?”

“Nope.” Natalya shook her head, “Never.”

“Well,” Tatyana had reached into her pocket to pull out her phone, seeing that it’d be about ten minutes until they were to arrive in the city, may as well kill some time, “Prepare to be amazed when we get there.”

Prepare to be amazed, hm? It took a lot to amaze Natalya, so she would have to see if Tatyana was really correct about Magix being this ‘amazing’ place. 

The entire bus ride had chatter amongst the group of girls. Of course, Natalya contributed to the conversation from time to time while fiddling with the locket around her neck. It had been a necklace in the form of a locket that she’s had since she was a baby, and sometimes she couldn’t help but find herself fiddling around with it just out of boredom.

Getting closer and closer to the city, this gave a chance for the girls on the bus to get exposed to the large buildings that belonged to the city. For Natalya, when she thought of cities, she always imagined large buildings, a lot of people, a lot of cars and so on. Moscow was a city, but it wasn’t as crazy as a city says to, New York City, which she’s visited a few off-times with her family. 

The bus had stopped at a stop that was meant for the students to all step off-board, which the group of fairies indeed did do. Natalya was the last to step off the board where she was greeted to the excited faces that belonged to the other fairies before she had been exposed to the sight of what Magix looked like.

The first thing that she had seen right away was flying cars… Which didn’t even exist on earth! There were flying cars, then there were the iconic large, tall buildings that belonged with any city, and there were a lot of people active and walking around… And because of this, she frowned.

“So,” Mei began as she leaned herself forward towards Natalya’s direction, “What do you think?”

What did she think of Magix… Well, the flying cars were absolutely amazing. That definitely didn’t exist on Earth, but something didn’t feel right to her at all, “To be honest, I’m kind of disappointed.” Natalya began, which all resulted in shocked, surprised looks to come from the group of fairies, “ _This_ is Magix? Capital City of the Magic Dimension? Most enchanted city in the universe?”

“Why, yes.” Monika nodded when Natalya had described the city, which she wasn’t wrong at all, “Were you expecting something else?”

“I don’t know,” Natalya sighed and crossed her arms under her chest. She supposed there was no reason to get excited in the first place, “I was expecting more dragons, unicorns, giants, flying broomsticks - the kinds you see on television or in books.”

“Oh come on, you know that’s all fairytale stuff,” Florentyna began as she wrapped an arm around Natalya so they could start walking. This would give Natalya a chance to at least see the city more before she decided that she didn’t like it, “This is the _real world_. What’s cool about this place is that everyone knows magic. Unlike us, because we’re students, everyone else is able to use their magic freely as they please.” She explained as the group began to make their way towards the pizzeria for dinner.

Freely use their magic as they wanted to… Now that was indeed truly amazing to Natalya. Hopefully, once she managed to figure out to use her own powers, it’d be as easy as the people in Magix were using it. Just then and there too, she had watched someone shrink their car size so it would fit into a parking space.

Magic was truly amazing. 

And magic… It could be a very dangerous tool as well. Especially when it lingered in the wrong hands. Wrong hands who tended to use it for darker purposes rather than for light as fairies did.

And magic was well, the key to three individual ladies finding out that their Ogre had been in the hands of hero specialists over at UHB after it had been discovered that he was captured and defeated by Florentyna and her friends. 

Seeing that the specialists had ended up placing the Ogre in the dungeons of the college, it wasn’t hard for them to use the dark arts in magic in order to break their Ogre free. It was only discovered that the Ogre was free when one of the specialists who were on guard for magical prisoners had discovered this, which meant this was a bad thing. 

A bad thing is that there was an Ogre on the loose when in reality, his mistresses had been the ones to break him loose. 

“ _You are a pathetic Ogre for getting yourself captured!”_

The Ogre, who was on his knees at this point, had been bowing down to the three women who stood before him with great fear brought to his eyes. Yes, the Ogre was well aware of his mistakes, but the fact of the matter was that he was also grateful for these women for saving him. He had heard things such as the specialists planning on sending him to another planet - and that was something he didn’t want.

“T-Thank you, your wickednesses…” The Ogre spoke after a moment, allowing for them to insult him on the spot. Rather than show shame, he showed gratefulness towards them in addition to appreciation. 

The group of individuals had been standing in a private alley in the city of Magix. There was a reason for this, mainly at the fact of privacy in addition to lessening the risk of their existence. 

Amongst the group, there had been one individual with iced-blue, piercing eyes and hair as white as snow. She had been wearing normal attire, such as a pair of jeans, a regular shirt, and a leather jacket while glaring down at the Ogre. Her hair was pulled back, and just on her side seemed to be a wand sticking out of her belt. 

Beside her, the two other women looked just as scary as her as well. One had been a brunette with long hair, piercing yellow eyes and wore what looked like a black blazer, a black skirt, and a white blouse. The other had shorter hair that was a dirtier blonde while she had red-orbs herself. She had been wearing jeans, a ripped up shirt, black boots and a ripped up coat as well. 

“Tell me why we should give you a third chance, Ogre.” The white-haired woman spoke, “Now.” 

“P-Please, your wickedness. I can prove it to you that I am loyal.” The Ogre insisted as he begged to them, clearly knowing that it’s either he listens or he could consider himself dead then and there, “Let me find the Princess of Solis. I can steal her ring, take her down… I can complete the mission. If she didn’t have those friends of hers, she would have been good as dead in my hands!”

“Good as dead?” The brunette spoke as she leaned forward, “You allowed yourself to get beaten up by specialist heroes. I’m pretty sure that proves you don’t know how to fight.” 

“I can!” The Ogre insisted, practically shaking in fear.

The fear that came from the Ogre didn’t disrupt the three women at all. Oh no, it was quite opposite seeing that while the brunette and white-haired girls were staring down at the Ogre, the dirty-blonde had noticed something up ahead in the alley.

Five girls… No, five fairy girls. All of them, she didn’t know… But what she did recognize was the blonde girl dressed in pink talking loudly amongst all of them. It seemed to be that they were going in the direction of the food district of Magix.

“…Sisters…” The short-haired woman spoke before motioning her head up in their direction, “Perhaps we may be able to get the ring tonight.” 

The two other women looked up when this was pointed out. Right away, they immediately recognized Florentyna’s disgusting pink fashion in addition to her loud, babbling voice to her friends. Oh, it was a perfect coincidence indeed.

“That’s right…” The brunette spoke with a bit of amusement to her tone of voice, “Lenfia College had their move-in day today… So all the little scrawny fairies are probably in Magix. Including Princess Florentyna herself and that ring of hers.”

This was amazing news for the white-haired woman who had a large, crazed smirk grown on her lips. This was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Even if the Ogre couldn’t fight, they could all three fight against first-year fairies. Plus, they could use the Ogre as their little spy so they can prepare for an attack.

“Alright Ogre, if you want to prove yourself to us…” She began, looking down at the Ogre, “You’re going to do this. You’re going to follow Florentyna and her friends and just wait. Wait for a moment when Florentyna is alone. You’re going to grab her, bring her to us, and we’ll deal with taking the ring from her… Understood?”

It didn’t sound like a hard plan for the Ogre to follow at all. If he was stupid as she thought he was, well… Then she wouldn’t hesitate to pull out an attack then and there on Florentyna to get her ring.

The Ogre, on the other hand, felt relief fill his entire body upon hearing the mentioning of following Florentyna and her friends around. Yes! This was something he could definitely do, that at that point, he began bowing himself over and over again to the three women, “Thank you, thank you, my wickednesses! I won’t let you down.”

“…You better _fucking_ not.” The same woman of the group spoke before glaring at the Ogre, 

“ _Go, now._ ” 

* * *

The one thing that was very amazing to Natalya was that despite being from a completely different dimension, the pizza was still the same on Magix as it was on Earth. She didn’t eat pizza all the time, but if she were to, it was always on a special occasion at home. But being able to go out with people she had just met as a chance to know them….

…It was overall a completely new experience to her. Spending time with friends, getting to know them… She never had that chance on earth. Perhaps her sister was right about this being an opportunity she couldn’t say no to at all.

Speaking of her sister, she should at least try calling her family to let them know that she was alive. After all, it had been a few hours since the last time they had talked. With this in mind, like the rest of the group was talking amongst each other, Natalya had pulled out her phone and began fiddling with it to see if she could call them…

…But there was no signal. 

She stared at the phone, noticing that there were no bars present at all on the signal. Was this something because she was in a different dimension? “That’s so weird…”  


Hearing Natalya mutter to herself while looking at her phone definitely caught Monika’s attention. She had reached over for a napkin; wiping her lips before looking over at Natalya, then at her phone, “Something the matter?”

“Yeah… My phone,” Natalya began and looked at it with a small sigh, “It’s not working.”

This was definitely amusing to Monika. Anything when it came to engineering or technology, well, she was the person for that. With this in mind, she had held out her hand, “Here, I can see what’s wrong with it. I love playing around with technology,” 

It was a fair enough claim, Natalya thought to herself before agreeing and handing over the device. Once it was in her hands, this had definitely caught her attention as she was shocked and began picking at the screen, “This is amazing,” She began and looked at Natalya, before soon taking off the case. This had Natalya’s eyes widen, unsure of what she was doing. But, all Monika did was begin laughing while looking through it.

“What’s so funny, Monika?” Mei had looked over while she had been in the middle of biting into her pizza, a bit confused about why the other was laughing.

“This cellphone is ancient technology,” Monika responded before putting the phone down onto the table before she had taken out her own phone. Comparing the differences, it showed that hers was of much higher technology compared to Natalya’s, “It belongs in a museum! Brenda, how do you have a phone like this?”

“I… uh,” Natalya looked flustered at that moment, which she couldn’t help but to take in a breath before speaking, “It’s the latest one… From my Kingdom.”

“Latest? This garbage thing?” Monika had handed the phone back to Natalya, “You need an inter-dimensional phone if you’re trying to reach your Kingdom. Maybe your phone was built strictly for calls in your planet, that would make more sense.”

Right… Her planet being from Earth. It all made sense too, her phone didn’t work there because it was an earth phone. A small sigh came from Natalya as she was now unsure of how exactly she could reach her family. Fortunately, Monika had noticed this too as she reached into her bag and took out what looked like a card, “Here,” She began, holding it out to the other, “There’s an inter-dimensional phone about a block from here. You can use my phone card to call your parents.” 

Wow, if there was one thing she was grateful for, it was definitely Monika’s help. Natalya nodded and took the card before standing up, “Thanks, Monika… I’ll be right back,” She began, before soon leaving the group of four with their food to go to the said phone booth. Just as she had said, there was indeed a phone booth a block away, where she climbed inside and used the card to swipe in a call. After speaking with an operator about connecting to Earth, she had put in her family’s phone number and waited as it rang on the other line.

It took just about five minutes, but once she had heard the click of someone picking up, Natalya spoke, “Hello?” 

“…Natalya?” A female voice came from the other line, which Natalya immediately recognized it as her sister’s, “Oh, Natalya! Hi, how are you? How’s everything over there?”

“Well… You were right about making the decision to come here,” Natalya began, looking down at the phone as she spoke into it. It was so nice to talk to her older sister… Even though they had just saw each other a few hours ago, “Everything is amazing… I managed to make a few friends, Florentyna has been showing me around… and there are flying cars here.”

“Flying cars?!” Came from the other line.

“Flying cars, I’m serious,” Natalya responded, having no hesitation in her tone whatsoever, “It’s like… I just walked into the future. I have a friend who’s into technology, and she said my own personal phone isn’t going to work here unless I get one of these cards… so I probably might get one just so I can stay in contact with all of you guys over there.”

As the two were talking on the phone, it was simply just to check in on things. What exactly Natalya did after she had checked into her room, what she was eating for dinner - the little things. Though, as she was talking, she couldn’t help but notice a large shadow pass over her. 

Was someone waiting for the booth? She turned her head around while listening to her sister talk until she saw that no one was waiting… But there was someone who indeed passed by her.

It was… A large Ogre… With the same outfit that was from the one on… Earth?

Her face immediately pressed up to the glass of the booth as she stared at the direction of where the Ogre was going. No, that was impossible… The hero specialists had already taken care of the Ogre! How could he be out here wandering the streets of Magix?… Unless he escaped?

She really hoped that wasn’t the case, because if it was… Could it be that the Ogre was after Florentyna?

“Big sestra,” Natalya spoke into the phone now while her sister was in the middle of talking, “I have to go.”

“…What? Already?” Anya began, clearly shocked to hear such a statement, “How come?”

Shoot, she didn’t have a reason. She can’t just tell her sister that she saw the Ogre who attacked their home earlier! That would just get her to freak out. So instead, Natalya stayed calm as she thought of a quick lie, “The bus is leaving back to Lenfia. When we get back to the suites, I’ll make sure to call you so I can at least talk to Papa.”

There was once again a small period of silence, but Natalya needed to hurry because she needed to make sure that wasn’t the Ogre she was thinking about. And so, Anya let out a sigh before speaking through the line, “Alright, Natalya. Safe travels.”

“Thankyouloveyoubye,” Rapid Russian came from Natalya’s end before she hung up the phone and quickly went in the direction of where she had seen the Ogre go. 

From what she could tell… It was the same Ogre! How did he escape from UHB? Had something happen in the dungeons? She had no idea. It was times like these she really wished that her phone would have worked, or let alone, at least have one of those heroes phone numbers to at least notify them that the Ogre was there - in Magix!

Where the Ogre had went to though was what Natalya didn’t expect at all. It seemed to have been… An abandoned alleyway? It was dark, and all that had been present were the lights from the buildings around them. It was creepy, but that was when Natalya figured out there was a reason as to why the Ogre was there.

He wasn’t alone.

Quickly, she noticed some trash cans that were filled in a corner. This gave her a chance to hide behind the cans in hopes to keep herself from getting caught. She could see… Three shadows in front of the Ogre? Yes, it looked like there was indeed three figures present. And her suspicions only came to a confirmation when she heard voices.

“… _Well Ogre_ ,” The first voice began, “Were you able to locate Florentyna and her friends?”

There was a bit of silence that came from the Ogre at first before soon, he had turned around and pointed right at the direction where Natalya was hiding. Natalya panicked, dipping her head as quickly as she could down to the ground so she wouldn’t get caught. 

“I did, y-your wickedness,” The Ogre had spoken, “She’s with her friends at the pizzeria two blocks away. It looks like they’re about to wrap up to go back to Lenfia.” 

“Fuck…” Natalya whispered underneath her breath as she hid behind the trash, “…that was a close one…”

Despite Natalya hiding behind the trash, it seemed that she was safe for now. The conversation then continued on with the women and Ogre, “And was she wearing her ring?” A second voice spoke. A nod then came from the Ogre, which had the three individuals looking at each other, “Good, we have to get that ring.” 

As they were talking… Well, Natalya had no idea who was talking. All she wanted to know who it was - this resulting in her to slowly peek her head once more from the trash. She couldn’t see them at all thanks to how large the Ogre was… He was blocking her view from the mysterious people! “Damn it, move you fucking Ogre…” Natalya cursed underneath her breath in a whisper; glaring right at its back waiting for him to move.

The whisper though, despite it being as quiet as it was, caught onto one of the women. The brunette in particular, while the other two were in conversation, had paused as her eyes glew for a moment in power before she glanced over at the trash cans behind the Ogre. It seemed like no one was there… But behind the trash cans, there was an aura.

A positive kind of aura.

“…Sisters,” She interrupted in a low voice so their little spy wouldn’t hear, “It looks like we havea little rat spying on us.” 

“…A spy?” The shorter-haired woman of the group looked over at the brunette, “You sure about that?”

“Mm.” The brunette held her hands together as she closed her eyes, soon forming an illusion of herself to make it seem like she had been still standing behind the other two ladies. Her real self though, slowly began to fade from the scene, “Sometimes I love using illusion magic… I’ll go take care of it,” She whispered before soon vanishing. While her real self transported behind the trash cans, the illusion of her stood behind the two girls.

This seemed to be the opportunity when the Ogre had actually moved, now giving Natalya a better view to watch, “Fucking finally,” She whispered underneath her breath; now getting a better visual of who those three women were. As she was watching, she noticed that they had stopped talking….

… _Quick, turn around!_

A voice immediately had filled Natalya’s head as she knelt there, shooting her head around to meet the shadow of what looked like a taller woman. Her eyes widen in horror seeing that it was… It was one of the women who was standing there, but how could she be here and there at the same time! 

A large grin had been on the woman’s face as she held her hands out at Natalya, resulting in a blast of magic to directly hit the girl right on the chest and have her flying right out of the trash. The brunette smirked while the other two women grinned in amusement when finding their little rat spy, “Look what I found, ladies~ Our little admirer~”

The hit from the magic had Natalya land straight onto her face. It was painful, but she’s been in worse case scenarios. She struggled at first to get up, but soon, she had pushed herself up and looked up only to meet the piercing blue eyes of the first woman who had been standing there. This had startled her as she jerked back, but the woman seemed more amused.

“Well, hello there little fairy.” The woman began, “Looks like someone wasn’t taught about how rude it is to spy on others. Naughty, naughty…”

Who… What the hell were these people? They looked like normal humans, but there was such negative, toxic energy that came from them… Natalya couldn’t even pinpoint what they were, “Who are you?” She had asked, clearly wanting to know that more than what their actual conversation was.

“Who _we_ are?” The woman began before clearing her throat, chuckling as she ran a hand through her hair, “We are witch students from the University of Dark Arts at the Tower of the Dead. We’re third-year seniors,” She looked down at the blonde and crossed her arms while the other two witches had formed a circle around the girl, “My name is _Gelinda_ … The brunette is Aviana, and the short-haired one is Nebula. You’re a friend of Florentyna’s, aren’t you?” 

There was silence that came from Natalya. Oh no, this wasn’t good at all from her point of view. At least she got their names… Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula… Witches from the University of Dark Arts… Which meant, aren’t these the witches that hated fairies? The ones that the headmistress had warned all first-years to avoid at all costs? 

“Seeing that your necklace starts with ‘Nat’,” The second she had heard Gelinda refer to her necklace, Natalya had quickly grabbed onto it with a firm grip as if she didn’t want her to look at it anymore, “I’m going to guess your name is… Natalie? Natia?” 

“Natalya.” She had answered before slowly getting up, which seemed to have been a bad idea seeing that they were inching closer at her. Three… No, including the Ogre? It was a four versus one sort of situation… That she needed to get out of, “Listen, I was just leaving. But whatever the fuck you guys are up to, isn't okay. You're what, planning to attack a fairy?”

“....Look at this sisters, she's a fighter.” An arm had reached out to grab Natalya’s shoulder, this time it being from Aviana who had stepped closer and tightened her grip on the girl, “I think you're making a big mistake trying to pick a fight with us, fairy. Fairies, first of all, don't fight against witches... Secondly, don’t you think the fairy should be punished for spying on us, sisters?” 

“That is just… So sad,” Gelinda had held up her hands into the air, soon resulting in what looked like to be snow filling the area. Specifically, targeting right at Natalya as everything suddenly felt freezing to her, “A little fairy who likes to spy and thinks she can fight. My, that’s just one for the book of idiot fairies we’ve met.”

With her hand up in the air, right away what looked like spears began rising from the ground. This caught Natalya off guard as she jumped back to try to avoid the spears, but of course, the more they grew, the more she found herself restricted from running.

"So she can dodge, hmph..." This gave a chance for Aviana to step forward as two fingers were brought to her forehead. There, she had pressed against her skin and glared right at Natalya’s direction, which resulted in beams of dark energy to go straight for the fairy to give the illusion… As if she were being choked, “Well, if she won’t start talking on where Florentyna is,” Her hands had pulled back, resulting in Natalya to begin coughing heavily, “Then we’ll force it out of you.”

Why were they so eager to know where Florentyna was?… No, she wasn’t going to let them know that easily. She was innocent. Sure, she knew Florentyna wasn’t the smartest and made dumb decisions, but that didn’t mean she had to be the one getting punished for it! Natalya kept her mouth shut, refusing to answer the question… Which seemed to be a bad idea.

The third witch, Nebula had already held her hands out towards the fairy There, what looked like a tornado began flying right at Natalya’s direction. At first, Natalya took this as a chance to attempt running, but the tornado was so quick that within seconds, she was on the ground and immediately it had sucked her up straight from the ground, shooting her right up into the air.

Laughter could be heard from the witches seeing Natalya panic then and there. But the good part was that as she was launched up, she was at least able to catch herself from falling by grabbing onto the pipe of a building. She was strong, but she didn’t know how long she’d be able to last holding herself there.

Seeing this was something that Gelinda in particular did not like to see at all. With her hands up once again, the icy cold had practically pulled Natalya to the ground as the girl had let out what sounded like a panicked gasp, “I am getting really fucking impatient here.” She soon began as ice began to form around Natalya, “If she’s going to waste my time, so be it.”

She didn’t even have a chance to run until the ice had started at her feet. Before Natalya had a chance to realize it, the ice had grown up to her legs… Then to her waist, her arms, and then her head - leaving her frozen on the spot unable to move.

Meanwhile, in the midst of the attacks that was taking place in the alley, the group of girls had already finished their pizzas and had paid the check so they could go back to Lenfia… Yet, they had been waiting for Natalya for a good, solid twenty minutes when they had thought her phone call would have been quick.

“Where is Brenda?” Tatyana couldn’t help but to begin as she had been sitting on a bench, Her expression showed that she was concerned, especially since she had kept moving her head around to see if any passerby’s were Natalya, “I’m starting to get worried… did she already go back to Lenfia?”

“Nah, she wouldn’t do that,” Florentyna began, knowing that Natalya wasn’t the type of person to ditch so easily, “Maybe she got lost. After all, this is Brenda’s first time in Magix.”

_“You lost someone?”_

A familiar voice had managed to meet Florentyna’s ears, while this was a new one for the group of fairies that stood there. When they all had turned around, what they had saw were two individuals who they weren’t expecting to see at all. 

“Alfred?” Florentyna had tilted her head now in confusion, “Gilbert? What are you two doing here?”

“We could ask the same question,” Gilbert began, indeed noticing who Florentyna was hanging around. He didn’t know the black-haired and brunette girl, but he immediately recognized one of the group of girls, “Glad to see that you got to meet my sister.”

“…Sister?” The group of girls immediately looked at who Gilbert was staring at, which was right at Monika. 

Florentyna gasped loudly when she had heard this before she had covered her mouth, which resulted in Monika to raise a brow in confusion, “So this is the sister you’re always talking about!!!” She began in amazement, “I had no idea!”

“…Wow, you’ve known me for what, almost eighteen years,” Gilbert began, clearly unamused just as Monika seemed to be, “And you forgot that I have three other siblings?” 

“I mean, we all did learn today that she blew up the potions lab at Lenfia,” Monika couldn’t help but to chuckle underneath her breath, which had definitely got the group laughing just a bit… 

…Minus Tatyana, who was still worried about what was going on. Still, she took this as her chance to introduce herself to the two men as she spoke, "I'm Tatyana, this is Mei," She motioned over to the black-haired fairy, "And I guess you know Monika and Florentyna."

“I'm Alfred, that's Gilbert." Alfred pointed over to the man beside him before going back to the topic at hand, "Did I hear something about losing someone?” He had spoken up now in the middle of the conversation. He didn’t catch the name of who, but… Part of him had a good feeling in his gut that it must’ve been the girl from Earth, right? Natalya, that was her name, if he remembered correctly, “Was it Natalya?"

The second he had said this aloud, almost immediately, Florentyna had quickly moved herself forward and covered the male’s mouth from saying anything else with her hand. A shocked look came from the blonde, but Florentyna soon interrupted, “N-No no, not her! Our friend, Brenda. She just came from Colisto and is a first-year. We think we may have lost her.” 

A frown immediately formed on Alfred’s lips… Damn, so it wasn’t her? The earth girl really didn’t make it to the magic dimension? 

“Well…” Alfred had removed Florentyna’s hand and stepped away from her, clearly confused why she had been acting that way. Even the rest of the girls seemed confused as to why she was trying to keep Alfred quiet from speaking, “…Gil and I are on a search right now. The Ogre we were in charge of dealing with… Someone broke him out. We don’t know what it is, but we think it has something to do with witches.”

“With witches?” Tatyana looked up, horrified hearing those words.

“Yup.” Gilbert nodded and soon pulled out what looked like large handcuffs, in addition to some glowing rope, “So we’ve been assigned to go through Magix to see if we can find him. We have other search parties in different parts of the city, so maybe we can help you find your friend while you guys can help us find the Ogre. Plus, at this time of night? It’s probably best that we stick as a group.”

That was a fair point. Already, the girls were way past their curfew to return to Lenfia’s gates. But it wouldn’t matter, since classes didn’t start until tomorrow. If they were quiet about returning, then it shouldn’t be an issue.

“Hey, I’m not opposed to that idea at all,” Mei began in agreement to Gilbert, “Find Brenda, find the Ogre, go home and go to bed, Easy peasy. I’m sure Brenda didn’t go too far.”

“Great,” Alfred smiled when hearing the agreement from the rest of the group, “Let’s go searching then.”

Going on the hunt to find Natalya and the Ogre seemed to be a very casual thing as the group walked through the streets of Magix. So far, there had been nothing in the first few minutes… But eventually after a bit of walking, the group had found themselves in a darker area of the city that didn’t settle well for the fairies.

One of those darker areas, included exactly where the witches, Ogre, and Natalya had been present.

As Natalya was frozen there, this gave Gelinda a chance to fully observe the girl and get a chance to look at her face properly… Well, there was no dying the fact that the girl was pretty, but there was just something about her face that looked very familiar… The blonde hair, the violet-blue eyes… Where has she seen that face before?

“…Doesn’t she look familiar, sisters?” Gelinda couldn’t help but to glare as the other two witches had looked at her in confusion. As she said this, she had brought a hand up to the ice statue and dug her nails slowly through it, “Ah well… No one that I know, but whatever. The longer she’s in this ice, the more her body will freeze to death… Unless she decides to tell us where Florentyna is, because she is one of her friends, then I’ll just let her slowly kill herself.”

The name Florentyna had caught the group’s attention as they were in the process of walking. Even she herself had paused before she looked over at the two men and group of fairies, “Hey, did you guys say my name?” 

“Nope.” Mei had shaken her head, followed by Tatyana who was agreeing with Mei.

Something didn’t feel right though to Florentyna at all… Something about being in that part of the city, well, screamed that they needed to get out of there. But they kept going. Not only did she hear her name more, but at one point, she found herself stopping right at the end of a dark alley. She couldn’t see what was ahead, but there was a dark energy coming from it.

“ _Come on, Natalya.”_ What sounded like a fist against glass had came from the end of the alley, “ _Tell us where your fucking friend is!”_

The second Florentyna could hear this, it was almost instinctively that she found herself running in the direction of where the voices were coming from. This had caught the group completely off guard - including the men too as they had no idea where Florentyna was running into the alley.

“Florentyna!” Monika had called out while everyone followed just behind, “What are you—“

Her sentence didn’t even come to a completion the second everyone had seen what they were being shown. Not only was Natalya frozen on the spot in what looked like an ice chamber… But, the dark energy that was there was coming from the three women who stood around the statue, sending threats to her while the Ogre that the heroes were after was standing right there.

Florentyna felt her heart shatter right on the spot seeing that Natalya was put into a position after people who seemed to be going for her. And so, she had stepped forward and spoke out, “I’m right here, you freaks!”

The second the new voice had filled the alley, this had definitely caught all of the witches attention as they turned their heads over to seeing not only the four girls, but the two men who seemed to be holding onto weapons. Even the Ogre recognized the heroes, whose eyes widened in fear knowing that they must’ve been going after him. 

What was more horrifying at the moment as well as the fact that Natalya’s body had been frozen in an ice chamber. The entire group, especially Alfred who had just got to meet the girl the previous night - she did end up coming to Magix after all! But, the bigger question was… Who the hell was Brenda? 

“Let her go!” Florentyna began now, her eyes narrow and sharp as she felt her hands turn into fists, “This is my fight with you guys! Let her go and I’ll let you have me!”

“Oh no, Florentyna. We don’t want you,” Gelinda had stepped in front of Natalya’s frozen body; a sickening smirk grown on her lips as glowing magic soon formed around her hands, “If you want your friend Natalya back, you’re going to have to cough up your ring right here, right now.”

“…Natalya?” Monika blinked when hearing the name as she looked over at Florentyna, “…Who’s ‘Natalya’?” 

Well, there was the plan going straight into the trash on trying to convince that Natalya was Brenda. With a sigh, Florentyna had closed her eyes and thought for a moment, “…I’ll explain it to you all later, right now, we need to get her out of there. That ice is going to freeze her to death and I promised I wouldn’t let her get hurt,” 

The silence that came from Florentyna though, didn’t settle well with Gelinda. Instead, she had sighed and snapped her fingers, “Hey, Ogre! How do you feel about having some fairies and specialists for dinner tonight?”

“Is this bitch for real?” Gilbert couldn’t help but to choke on his breathing before reaching for his belt. On the belt, he had pulled out what looked like the handle to a weapon, before he had pressed a button and soon a sword had formed in case he needed to fight.

Fighting though was the last thing that came to Alfred’s mind at that point… Oh no, he was more focused on the fact that Natalya could be literally dying in that ice chamber if they just stood there doing nothing! “…We have to get her out, we can’t waste anymore time. She’s going to die if we don’t do something-“

“And that’s why we’re going to do something,” Florentyna began, now pulling off the ring from her finger. This was something that Gelinda had smirked at as she thought the fairy was giving up the ring… But instead, it was quite opposite.

The ring was tossed into the air where soon, a scepter had taken its shape to it. Florentyna had jumped herself into the air as well, catching it before holding it out in the direction of the witches, “…You want my ring?” She leaned forward, “Come and get it.” 

The second she had said this, all Gelinda had done was shrug, snap her fingers, which allowed for the Ogre to go straight running at their direction.

Florentyna had a plan, for now, but she required everyone’s help at that point. She looked over at the group of fairies, “We need to transform, now.” She began before looking at the men, “We’ll handle the witches. Gilbert, deal with the ogre, and Alfred, I’m going to melt that chamber and I need you to get Natalya the hell out of here and get her somewhere warm until I can come warm her up.”

“Sounds like a perfect plan to me,” Alfred began in agreement, in addition to the rest of the group nodding at the plan. It was all they got, and even if Florentyna wasn’t the smartest, she knew how to execute plans when they were all of the sudden.

It was while the Ogre charged at them, all Florentyna had done with the group of girls was close their eyes while standing beside one another and saying one, powerful word that had the Ogre blasted right from the spot from running into them.

“… _Charmix_.”

This one word was said in unison that had led for a powerful energy to fill the dark alleyway. This powerful energy had formed into glowing orbs that had surrounded each girl that stood there, that as they took a step forward - the appearance of where they were wearing normal clothes had completely transitioned into something else entirely with a pair of wings.

Mei had been the one to step out first, where her long black hair had been pulled into high pigtails while on the top of her head, she had been wearing a pair of headphones. On her body, she had been wearing a beautiful, sparkling red fabric that had been in the form of a skirt and crop-top before red knee-lengthen boots had formed around her feet. On her eyes, she had been wearing a beautiful pink make-up, this to symbolize the color of red from her origins and culture. Her wings had been sparkling blue with shades of red sparkle shining through it as well.

Monika had been next as she stepped out in what seemed to be a violet bodysuit. Her hair had grown from what seemed to be very short, to a bit longer with curled ends. The bodysuit was indeed sparkling under the moonlight before a green pair of wings had formed just behind her back, as well as what looked like a headset appeared around her ears as if it were her way of communication with other fairies.

Tatyana was second to last to step out of the glowing light, where her attire had revealed a beautiful, pink, sparkling gown. Her hair had been turned into a side braid, where small flowers had been decorated along the braid as well as for a choker to be around her neck with a beautiful cherry-blossom flower. In addition to the gown looking almost similar to a tulip, pink sleeves went halfway up her arms as well as light pink, ankle-length boots had formed around her feet. To top it all off, beautiful green wings had formed behind her as well.

For Florentyna as the last, once again, she had appeared in her iconic orange outfit, her low pigtails, blue headband, and beautiful glowing silver wings as well. 

To say the least, this had confirmed to the witches that what they were going against were indeed fairies from Lenfia.

“Son of a…” Gelinda looked annoyed and angered noticing that the Ogre wasn’t getting up at all from that attack. All it took was for a few fairies magic to knock the damn Ogre out? And it was just from the positive energy of their transformation! This made her furious as she held her hands out, “Fine! I’ll take care of these little freshmen fairies myself.” As she said this, glowing magic soon filled around her as what looked like sharp icicles formed around her body, “I hope you all like fairy kabob.”

The second the fairies had noticed this, Monika had held her hands out immediately, “Guys, get behind me!” She had shouted, which as Gelinda had launched her attack right at them, this gave her the chance to form a protective barrier around them so they wouldn’t take the hit from the sharp icicles. And soon, the spell was casted, “ _Firewall!_ ”

As the spell was casted, indeed a barrier had formed around the group which Monika had been able to protect themselves from the attack. It seemed that the witches were distracted by this, which gave Florentyna the opportunity to fly up into the air and hold the scepter that was in her hands above her.

They had to get Natalya out of there now. Now before it was too late.

“ _Solar energy, melt the ice!”_ Florentyna had shouted, sending immediately what looked like a orb of sunlight right at Natalya to get the ice melting, “Alfred, go now!” 

The second he was given his cue, Alfred had nodded as he reached into his belt and pulled out what looked like a regular handle. Similarly to Gilbert’s, all he had to do was press a button and soon a shield had formed as he sprinted from the barrier Monika had formed, resulting in him to leap forward and catch Natalya before she hit the ground once the ice had melted.

And the second he felt her touch, she was frozen. Absolutely cold - lips were blue, face was lifeless… Alfred’s eyes widened as he looked over at Florentyna and shouted, “We have to get her out of here, now! She’s freezing!”

“Damn,” Mei couldn’t help but to chuckle underneath her breath, “And here I am hoping we were gonna get to fight a few witches tonight.”

“You got it!” Florentyna had held onto the scepter once more, and with a glowing swing, she and immediately swung magic right at the heroes and fairies direction. It seemed to be good timing too, especially since it looked like Gelinda was about to send another attack at their direction, “Get us the heck outta here!” 

The second Florentyna had swung the scepter, within the blink of an eye, everyone had vanished. The fairies, the specialists, and even Natalya… Which all of the witches who were standing there were shocked.

“What…what the fuck!?” Nebula had been the first to speak out in horror. 

“They… What-“ Aviana felt her jaw slowly drop.

“THEY GOT AWAY!?” Gelinda had shouted out loud now, clearly angered to see what had happened. Her hands had turned into fists seeing that their chance of getting the ring - it was gone! “NO! That can’t be—

_NOT AGAIN!”_

* * *

Escaping that fight was probably the best-case scenario they all could have done at that moment. Florentyna had no idea where to transport them at the moment, so the first thing was to get themselves somewhere safe where they could tend to Natalya. 

She ended up transporting them all to a park in Magix… Now that it was late at night, no one was around to question why all of those college students were there in the first place. 

Upon finding a park bench, Alfred had been the one to hold onto Natalya while Florentyna had stood above them; holding out her hands as what looked like a miniature sun had formed around Natalya’s body to warm her up. From what they could see, it seemed to have been working now that color had been forming back on her face, which was a relief to the entire group involved. 

“That was really a close one…” Gilbert couldn’t help but to comment while standing there, watching as Florentyna continued to warm-up Natalya, “…We didn’t catch the Ogre though.”  


“Whatever man,” Alfred looked up, clearly more worried about the girl in his arms as Gilbert rose a brow, indeed surprised to see how he was acting, “If the headmaster asks, we’ll tell him the truth. We found the Ogre, but we found out he’s associated with witches from the University of Dark Arts. There you go, easy answer.”

Eventually after a moment, Florentyna had lowered her hands down to Natalya’s body seeing that she was beginning to warm up. With her warming up, it also meant that she seemed to be waking up from that frozen state, “I think she’s coming to,” She began, which resulted in everyone to look over.

Of course, Natalya at first was silent when her body had began to move. Though as she felt the heat beginning to pick-up,.. That had resulted in her to slowly open her eyes now. She was exhausted… Tired, and clearly not in focus. Everything felt like a blur when she did come back to consciousness, but the second she had noticed the first thing… Which had been Alfred’s face staring right into hers.

…Her eyes widened and she immediately jerked awake.

“Holy shit-“ She had gasped, clutching onto her chest as if she was startled. What she hadn’t realized was that the entire time, it had been Alfred holding onto her as she sat in his lap, all while Florentyna had been in the process of warming her up. Now that she was awake of course, she began shivering, which resulted in Florentyna to pick-up her pace in her magic.

“Thank goodness you’re okay, Natalya.” Florentyna began with a small sigh, which resulted in Natalya to look over to notice the rest of the group.

So it wasn’t a dream. Everyone was there… Florentyna, Tatyana, Monika, Mei, Gilbert… And Alfred, were all there. Well, the group of girls seemed to have transformed into their fairy forms. As for what the guys were doing there? She had no clue at all.

“You could’ve survived at least a good fifteen more minutes, you know,” Florentyna reassured her with a smile, but of course, hadn’t been realizing what she was saying, “Seeing that you’re from Earth and all, you did amazing lasting for that long until we could find you, Natalya. You’re really brave—“

“—Okay, this is really starting to annoy me!” Mei had shot a glare right at Florentyna, which had the fairy of the sun freeze on the spot. Oh no, “I knew I wasn’t crazy! Why did you just call her, ‘Natalya’ and say that she’s from planet Earth?!”

This was astonishing to both of the men who were present. Even Alfred, who seemed to have still been holding onto Natalya so she wouldn’t fall to the ground, “…Because that’s her name?” He began in confusion, having no idea that Florentyna had been pulling a stunt with all of them, “And she’s from Earth? What are you talking about?”

“I’m from Russia you dumb fuck…how many times do we have to go through this, Florentyna…” Natalya couldn’t help but to groan slightly now as she held onto her head, which resulted in angered looks to all form on the fairies faces. She of course, was still in a delusional state… 

…But there was very obvious fear from Florentyna as she nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand, “Ah… ahaha…. Well you see…” She began with an innocent hum; trying to figure out a way how to properly explain to the group of fairies what was going on, “…there may be a bit of information that I forgot to tell you guys… and I was meaning to, I mean, we were - but we just had to make sure the circumstances were safe before we could…. Soooo…”  


“Florentyna.” Tatyana frowned seeing that the other was beginning to ramble, “No more lies. Who is she?"

A small sigh came from Florentyna at this point where she stood up, deciding that well, there was nothing else that she could do. They were caught, so it was best that she came out clean with the truth then and there. The longer Florentyna was quiet, the more glares that came at her direction as she nervously chuckled, “Okay okay listen, I’ll explain everything because she’s not herself right now-“

“…I’m here, Florentyna… just give me a second…”Natalya still could feel her head throbbing. If there was one thing, that was the first time she’s ever been caught in a ice chamber. And it was not fun at all - she didn’t recommend it at all. Though as she came back to consciousness, she had realized she was in… Someone else’s lap. 

Her eyes widened now when she realized she wasn’t just on a park bench, oh no. All it took was for her to look up and realize she was on Alfred’s lap before she immediately panicked, moving herself off of him, “I’m so sorry, oh my god— I’m awake, I’m awake—“

Seeing the startled look that came from Natalya had Alfred give a bit of a smirk, seeing that well, it was funny to see her wake up like that. But of course, he chuckled and shook his head before helping her off, “You sure you’re good?” He had asked, this time helping her slide onto the seat of the bench.

Of course, for Natalya, she didn’t know if she was okay. All she knew was that she was frozen at one point and then she woke up to being in Alfred’s arms and lap. That’s all. And by her cheeks turning red, not from the cold, it showed she was startled, “…Y-Yeah… Thanks… For helping me.”

Seeing that Natalya had been in her own dazed state, despite claiming that she was ‘there and present,’ Florentyna looked over at the other three fairies who seemed to be getting a bit more annoyed by the second, “Okay… Look,” She sighed, “I don’t know how else to come out and say it… But… She’s not the Princess of Colisto.” The second she had said this, all of their eyes had widened, “This is my friend Natalya… A fairy a met from Earth. She saved me, and well, she also found out she had powers the same day she did… And I offered to bring her from Lenfia, because I had this letter I was supposed to give to the headmistress from the real Brenda since she didn’t plan on coming this year. So I figured Natalya could take her spot, and it’s be all okay-!”

“…So you lied to the faculty to get her in?” Monika narrowed her eyes a bit at the blonde, “Do you realize how much trouble you can get in if you were caught?”

“…Oh, she knows alright.” Natalya couldn’t help but to sigh heavily as she looked up at them. Clearly by the expression on her face, she was tired, “I’m sorry I lied and agreed to the plan in the first place… It’s just, there was a list, and if I wasn’t on the list, I would’ve been turned into a ‘slimeball’, apparently? Plus, Florentyna told me about this idea literally two seconds before we were checking in, so I had no other choice…” She took in a breath, “I should have told you guys my real name and who I was in the first place.”

This was… All astonishing to the group of fairies, to say the least. A fairy from Earth… How was that even possible? There was no source of magic at all on Earth. Mei bit down on her lower lip, trying to better process what was going on, “You’re from Earth and you have powers… That doesn’t make sense to me at all.”

“You’re not the only one who’s confused about it either,” Natalya spoke up once more as she looked up at the other, “My life dramatically changed the second I found Florentyna. She was about to get killed, and I just… Jumped in, and all I remember is my body just… Letting out this power to make sure she didn’t get hurt.”

“And it was awesome!” Florentyna had stood up from her kneeling position; still holding one hand over Natalya to at least keep her warm since it was the evening, which meant it was a bit cold out, “No, really! She used some sort of magic to freeze the Ogre’s hands, then used this giant energy shield to protect me from monsters that when they touched the shield, they just burst into flames! It was insane.” 

“Yeah, but… The thing is with that, I don’t even know how to use magic.” Natalya had finished up explaining herself, “So I figured if I went with Florentyna to Lenfia… maybe the faculty there could teach me how to better control these powers. Figure out why I have them, because you’re right, Mei,” She looked up at the other, “There is no powers on Earth. I’ve lived and was born on Earth - magic is a joke there, it doesn’t exist. Hell, trying to convince my family that I had powers was a huge joke to them and took an Ogre bursting through my house door to get them to believe me.”

This was all astonishing to the group. A normal girl from girl awakening to her powers and not even having a clue about who she was other than she was born on Earth. With this in mind, Tatyana had taken a step towards Natalya and sat down beside her; taking her hands into her own and giving it a squeeze before smiling.

“I forgive you,” Were the first words that came from her, which got both Monika and Mei to look at her in shock. But alas, Tatyana only continued, “You must’ve been scared, hm? A fairy discovering her powers… this late too, coming from a place where no magic exists, and the first thing that happens when you get to the magic dimension is you get threatened to be turned into a slimeball.” She looked over at Mei and Monika, “It isn’t her fault she had to lie. If anything,” She glared over at Florentyna… But soon, she found herself letting out a bit of laughter, “…Honestly? I tend to focus on the positives than the negatives… And the fact that Florentyna had you back too with protecting you is actually sort-of sweet. It shows that she’s a true friend to you.”

Tatyana’s words seemed to be something that managed to have a huge impact on the group. Mainly at the fact that she had been more focused on how Natalya was just a normal girl who discovered her powers, and didn’t know what to do at all with them. She was unique… Which was why the fairy of nature had turned to the other two fairies who seemed to have been pouting.

“Oh come on, stop being weeds.” Tatyana began, “Would you at least give them both the benefit of the doubt? I have three younger siblings back home and if they were in trouble, I’d lie to protect them too.”

A small sigh came from Mei hearing these words, which had resulted in her to take a step forward towards Natalya. From there, she had held a hand out towards her for her to take, “I forgive you.” She began, which once Natalya had taken her hand, she slowly shook it, “It’s nice to meet you, Natalya.” 

“…Nice to meet you too, Mei.” Natalya felt a bit of relief come to her chest when Mei had shook her hand.

But what didn’t help was mainly the fact that Monika didn’t seem to be in favor at all of lying, and this was something that the group noticed. And so, Gilbert had approached her and grabbed onto her ear; pulling the girl down as Monika looked at the other in annoyance.

“Stop being a little grumpy-ass and listen,” Gilbert began, being the older brother that he usually was with anyone back home, “I’d lie for your sake too if you were threatened to become a slimeball.”

“But Gilbert,” Monika glared right at his direction; a stern look on her expression, “Both of them lied. How am I just supposed to—“

“—Okay, listen.” Natalya took in a breath and stood up from the bench. Of course, she was wobbling at first, which resulted in Alfred to hold out his arms in case she’d fall. She noticed this and looked at him, giving him a small nod in reassurance that she was okay, “I already feel bad enough lying to the school, which is why I’ll plan on confessing tomorrow… And drag Florentyna with me if I have to. Maybe not to Glynda, but to the headmistress.” 

_“Why wait until tomorrow when you can tell us now?”_

The new voice had shivers run up almost everyone’s spines when they had been sitting there. Who… Was there someone else there? All it took was for them all to turn around from the bench, which had all of their eyes widen and expressions become shocked. 

There, what seemed to be two individuals standing there in work attire. Yet, one had been wearing a coat, and the other seemed to have been carrying bags.

For Natalya… On Earth, there was one thing that people called this. And that was called ‘running into your teachers outside of the workplace.’ In this case, it was ten times worse seeing that they were caught, outside in public, with both the head of discipline and the headmistress.

“What are all of you doing here?” Glynda had been the first to speak out in a strict tone, which got everyone to fall completely silent. Oh yes, they were all terrified. Absolutely terrified because if there was one thing no one was expecting - it was _that_ to happen, “Why are you ladies transformed? And do you all know how late it is?” 

“Yeesh Miss G,” Florentyna had held out her hands almost as if she were trying to get the woman to calm herself down, “We were planning to go back to Lenfia in like, ten minutes. We just had a bit of a bump on the road ahead, that’s all.”

“A bump on the road, hm? Sounds sketchy enough, especially coming from you, Ms. Łukasiewicz.” Glynda responded, clearly unamused when the girl was trying to talk back. 

“Uh… Excuse me, sorry to interrupt-“ Monika had been the first to ask, since well, she had the bigger question in hand, and mainly it pertained to the fact that two huge important faculty members are there, “-Why are you here, if I may ask?” 

“Some students didn’t come back to their suites this evening, and since we know there were a few busses to Magix this evening, it was decided that some faculty go and check-in to see where they were at all make them go back.” Glynda had responded in a strict tone.

But of course, the Headmistress rose a small brow before she held up her bag, “…I just had to get food for my cat, you see.” She responded, acting like any other normal person before lowering the bag, “Regardless of the matter, it’s still concerning why you’re all here… Transformed into your fairy forms - I’m still surprised that it was all of you that we ended up finding here.”

“Well, Headmistress Radella,” Glynda had cleared her throat, clearly still angered at all of the students, “While I’m _not_ surprised with Florentyna, I _am_ surprised to see four of you here… And,” She shot a glare right at Gilbert and Alfred, clearly shocked to see them, “You boys had your curfew a good hour ago. Do you know what your headmaster would say if we contacted him and let him know you two were here?”

“…Yes ma’am,” Alfred had been the one to stand up now before reaching into his pocket to pull out what looked like a card, which soon, he had held it out to the older woman. On this card was his student ID, but there had been a stamp from their headmaster, “We’re actually on a mission right now, ma’am. Our curfews were extended to midnight.” 

There was a long pause that came from Glynda. As she gave a quick glance at the ID, it was indeed true. There was a stamp that revealed that their curfews had been extended briefly for that evening, which resulted in her to sigh in annoyance, “Fine. You two are off the hook, but as for you ladies,” She glared right back at the fairies before now looking down at Natalya who seemed to be avoiding eye contact with the woman, “And for you, Ms. ‘Princess of Colisto’. What did you _not_ want to tell _me,_ but tell to the headmistress?” 

Did they really hear the conversation that they were all having. Gosh, this evening was probably just as intense as the day before… Starting off with getting attacked by an Ogre, finding out she had powers, moving to a new dimension, getting frozen by witches and now getting caught in public by two important faculty members of Lenfia? It was the recipe for disaster.

Natalya sighed hearing the question before turning herself to face the headmistress, who seemed to be intrigued about the girl apparently having to tell her something. And just as she had promised to Monika too, Natalya did start off telling the truth, “…My name’s not Brenda. And I’m not from Colisto.” She began, which the second she had said this, the expressions on the two older women had changed.

“You… What?” Glynda had spoken out and took a step towards the girl, “You were lying to us?”

“Ma’am, I’m so sorry…” Natalya began, clearly unsure of how to finish explaining herself.

“You have broken two rules in less than twenty-four hours to Lenfia!” Glynda had cut her off immediately, glaring right at her which everyone on the spot seemed to be very intimidated by.

Seeing that everyone had been intimidated, the headmistress wanted to better understand where she was coming from. It was there that she had approached Glynda and placed a hand on her shoulder to get her to one, calm down, and to secondly hold her back from the girl, “Yes, she did break two rules, but,” Radella had spoken out now, “But she must be a magical creature. She wouldn’t have been able to get through the barrier at Lenfia today if she wasn’t… So,” She lowered her hand and took a step towards her, “Who are you, dear? Why did you lie to us?”

The second she had heard the question from the headmistress, Natalya sighed and began to confess to the other, “My name is Natalya Arlovskaya, and I come from Earth.” 

“…Earth?” Radella had paused for a moment, clearly shocked when she had heard this. Even Glynda who was silent had shot a look at Natalya, unsure of even what to say, “How is that possible? Magic doesn’t exist on Earth.”

“That’s why we were hoping the professors at Lenfia would be able to show us,” Florentyna immediately spoke up before standing next to Natalya, contributing to the confession, “Please don’t punish her. If anything, punish me. I convinced her to come with me to Lenfia and lied as well because the real Princess of Colisto gave me a letter to give to you because she didn’t plan on attending this year, so I figured Natalya could take her place and learn about her magic.”

As the headmistress observed the situation, it seemed to be from her understanding that they were telling the truth. Having to lie though to them was probably the best route, but there was something about this girl from Earth that intrigued her greatly… How was it possible that there was magic on Earth? No, there couldn’t be. But if Natalya said who she was, having powers and being from the other dimension, then… 

_ …How? _

“Well, you two still should be punished either way for lying,” Glynda had begun, which almost immediately Radella had looked at her colleague and shook her head immediately in disagreement.

“No, wait a second.” Radella began, interrupting the other, “It took a lot of courage for her to speak up as she did… I think we should give her a chance,” A shocked look came from not only Glynda, but everyone present at the scene showed that no one was expecting to hear such an answer from the headmistress… Yet, there was something about Natalya that Radella couldn’t put her finger on. She looked so familiar… But she didn’t know anyone from Earth. Let alone, it was amazing that there was a fairy that _did_ come from Earth, “I’d actually like to formally give you acceptance on coming to Lenfia and you can take the Princess of Colisto’s spot.”

“What?!” Glynda began once more, “Radella, are you sure about that?”

Hearing the question had the older woman pause. Yes, it was indeed a very dramatic change and came out of nowhere… But from the look of the students in front of her, it seemed that they really wanted her to stay. Plus, it looked like Natalya was willing to just about anything in order to learn more about herself.

“I’m positive.” Radella decided before turning her head over to the watch on her hands, simply checking on the time, “But, I want all of you back at Lenfia this instant. As for you hero specialists,” She turned over to Alfred and Gilbert, “Just make sure you get back before your curfew. Classes begin tomorrow and I expect to see all you fairies present when I come by to do my morning inspections. I’m not going to question why you all are in your fairy forms, but consider this your first warning. To all of you for staying out this late. I’ll dismiss the lying because you told the truth. Understood?” 

This… Was probably one of the best outcomes to come from telling the truth. Sure, it looked like Glynda was furious, but for Natalya… It was the biggest relief that could ever come from today. Which of course, the second the woman had said this, a bright glow had come from Florentyna, Mei, Monika and Tatyana as they all had transformed back immediately to their regular attire as they were in before. 

“Yes ma’am.” All of the students had responded in understanding before taking this as their chance to get away from the area and straight for the bus stop. 

However, despite them being dismissed, there was something that didn’t settle well with Radella. Natalya radiated a lot of energy… And it wasn’t bad energy at all. It was a positive energy that she felt as though she recognized. The reason why she had given the acceptance to Lenfia in the first place was that the girl did look like she had a lot of potential for success. In addition, even if she didn’t understand her powers, she could already tell she’s a powerful girl.

“You know, Glynda…” Radella had spoken out while watching the group walk away, “I didn’t think there was _anyone_ magical on Earth.”

“Me either,” Glynda began with her arms crossed, clearly still trying to figure out that part of the story, “Earth was meant for a place for humans to exist with no magic. That was decided centuries ago… it doesn’t make sense.”

Indeed, Radella had the same exact thoughts as the other woman. She turned herself now, beginning to walk away from the park bench with the other since, after all, they had to head back themselves as well.

“Well… That leaves us with a question then,” Radella began as they walked; turning her head towards the sky where her eyes had met the stars twinkling in the sky.

“… _Who is Natalya?”_

* * *

No need to deal with those faculty members any longer if they were dismissed to go. Fortunately for the group of students, the bus stop straight to the colleges of Magix had been just a block away. The men present had decided to stay with the girls at least until the bus arrived, which to say the least, the conversation from before managed to come to a consensus with Monika fully giving in and forgiving Natalya and Florentyna. 

During this time, a more, light-hearted conversation had taken place. Mainly the girls asking questions to Natalya about how Earth was and what the differences were compared to the magical dimension, minus the fact that there was no magic. And Natalya was happy to answer, starting off with explaining there were no portals, no flying cars, nothing of the sort. But what really was intriguing for all of them was that well, Natalya wasn’t of any nobility. She came from a normal family house, had two siblings, and a father who took care of them.

Listening to the conversation, this was something even Alfred couldn’t help but to note. So she really was just a normal girl with a normal life… But it all changed the second she was exposed to her powers. Now that was a story that not a lot of people would believe if they heard, but seeing how casual and calm she was, it was seemed to be true. She had no idea what royalty seemed to be, which to him, was shocking

But, there was something that he liked a lot. A girl with just normal life and background… No royal history whatsoever…

The bus eventually had made its way to the stop, which allowed for all of the girls to load in one by one. Natalya had been the last of course, though as she was just about to hop on, something had caught her attention. 

Her wrist had been pulled back from stepping onto the bus, which made her pause when she turned around and immediately met the familiar eyes of Alfred looking at her.

“Oh,” Natalya stopped herself now, stepping off of the bus for just that moment to look at him, “What’s wrong, Alfred?” 

If there was one thing that Alfred didn’t expect to do… It was, well, that. The thing was, since meeting her yesterday, he really didn’t think that she was going to come to the magical dimension… Yet, there she was in her full glory and would be staying to take classes in Lenfia. And so, he began, “Oh, I uh-“ He began, letting go of her wrist now to reach into his pocket. From there, he had pulled out what looked like a small sheet of paper before giving a smirk to the other, “I told ya if you did come to Magix to ask for Florentyna to give you my number. Did she do that?”

Silence came from Natalya as she stood there, which to her, she had completely forgotten about. This resulted in what sounded like a nervous chuckle as she shook her head, “…Nope. Sorry. I guess you can say we were all focused on checking in this morning and trying to not get ourselves turned into ‘slimeballs’.” 

That was a fair enough point, Alfred thought to himself as he chuckled and took out a pen. With this in mind, he had written down his contact information before handing it to her, “Listen Natalya, I’d really like to get to know you. I mean—“ He began, realizing what he sounded like as his face went red, “I- I just never met anyone from Earth before, and like, I’m a second-year right now at UHB, so I have to start thinking about my senior thesis when I’m a third year, and it’d be cool to do a topic on magic on Earth, that sort of stuff and—“

_Oh my god, he’s rambling because he’s nervous…_ Just inside the bus, Florentyna had pressed her face right against the glass of the window to see what was exactly going on. 

The thing was, there _was_ a reason as to why Florentyna had asked if Natalya was seeing someone…. Which was why that same night when inviting the hero specialists to Earth because she knew what Alfred was going through back home with his family. While it was a whole other sort of ordeal, she said he wanted to meet one of her ‘pretty friends’, and well, it seemed to have worked.

And oh indeed, there was a large smirk plastered on her face as she watched the scene take place from inside the bus. But there was a bigger concern in her mind…

…Did Alfred have to be so damn _cringey_ with trying to give his phone number to her? It was like a cliché romance movie, for goodness sake!

“Alright, sure.” Natalya began, clearly not phased at all by the rambling as she took the sheet of paper with his number and give the other a small smile. Though on her cheeks, she could indeed feel it becoming warm, “I… I need to get a new phone because well, it’s broken… But, when I do, I’ll text you my number.”

“Awesome. Thanks.” Alfred had stood up straight right away once the other had taken the paper. Great, this is turning out great so far - now to just make sure he didn’t look like a freak as he stepped back, “Have a great night, Natalya.” 

After taking the sheet of paper, she slipped it into her own pocket and turned to the entrance of the bus where it seemed that the bus driver was waiting for her in particular. She gave one more last look at Alfred with that same smile before climbing in to head back to the campus,

“ _You too, Alfred._ ” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!~ Finally made it to chapter 2. This is where a lot of major important characters come in, so I hope you're still paying attention!
> 
> Chapter 3 is scheduled to launch later this week! Outside of writing this, I am a full-time grad student, so I still have classes and such to do during the week. 
> 
> Until then, see you soon!


	4. The Birth of a Fairy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Me either,” Glynda began with her arms crossed, clearly still trying to figure out that part of the story, “Earth was meant for a place for humans to exist with no magic. That was decided centuries ago… it doesn’t make sense.”
> 
> Indeed, Radella had the same exact thoughts as the other woman. She turned herself now, beginning to walk away from the park bench with the other since, after all, they had to head back themselves as well.
> 
> “Well… That leaves us with a question then,” Radella began as they walked; turning her head towards the sky where her eyes had met the stars twinkling in the sky.
> 
> “…Who is Natalya?”

Life on the Lenfia campus was very energetic and active. The very first week of classes had begun for all colleges in the realm of Magix, which soon transitioned into a normal schedule for all students to prepare them for the upcoming school year. 

College coursework was much more intense than Natalya had ever expected during her first few days of classes. Some of her classes had included potion-making, the survival of the fitness, and even learning different spells that would benefit fairies in battle. During that entire first week, she had the opportunity to experience the life of not having to sit down in a lecture and take down notes.

Everything was very interactive. It was as if the Professors were purposely putting these fairies through the training necessary to build up their powers to prepare for their second year of intense training. All in all, she enjoyed it a lot. The studying part through books wasn’t difficult at all. In college, just the first two weeks already she had a few quizzes, which for Natalya, she had aced on the spot when it came to the hand-written portion…

…But as for the part where it involved using magic, well, she struggled.

The issue was that Natalya was still in a position where she didn’t know how to use her powers. She would try to during her classes, but nothing would happen. Just the end of the previous week, in her potions class she was expected to put together a mixture that would serve as a healing potion… But instead, when she said the spell to mix it, nothing had happened.

Not being able to show her powers truly was the highlight of embarrassment for that day. If she was thankful for one thing, she was thankful at the fact that her new friends were so patient with her trying to get through this learning step curve. However, now that it had been a new week after the weekend of doing homework and studying for her upcoming quizzes, she was still unsure of how the week would treat her.

Florentyna told her the very beginning that at first, new powers came out naturally by instinct… And soon over time, she would be able to take control of it and use it for her own manipulation. But right now, it seemed that she was in a state where her magic could happen at any time. She just didn’t know when or how it would happen.

Which left her still going to her classes that new Monday morning still unsure of how the day would treat her. Especially since today was her classes where it focused on physical magic than word magic? She had no idea what to expect. She got the spells and pronunciation down, but she still struggled to connect her magic to the spells.

One thing that she was grateful for was that her last class of the day was with Florentyna. At least she would be able to sit through the class with someone who knew what was going on. Let alone, perhaps the other fairy could at least show her some tricks on maybe ways to unlock the ability to control her powers

This class Natalya had focused more on the art of transformation - so it was perfect. She still has yet to transform into a fairy, which she personally was still trying to figure out how. So it was perfect. This class would be the key to figuring out the first step on what she needed to do to connect with herself. 

“Welcome ladies to week three out of fifteen in the semester,” The Professor for the class began once everyone was seated. Natalya, of course, had been seated in the middle of the classroom beside Florentyna. One thing that was interesting was that on each desk, there seemed to be a regular, hand mirror left out for each student, “I hope you all had a good weekend. In today’s lecture, we’re going to discuss of what we talked about last week, which is how magic can be used for limitless possibilities… Including in the art of transformation, which leads to our topic of discussion for today - metamorphosis.”

The Professor, who went by the name Keldan, was male, but the one thing that was unique about him was that… Well, he wasn’t just an ordinary professor. He was a sorcerer. A sorcerer that had spent many years researching on the art of transformation for fairies; specifically focusing on how the average human person can transform with their powers to become a fairy with glittery wings. With that research in mind, he soon went into learning more about how magical creatures could transform themselves into anything if they so wish to.

As he stood at the front of the classroom, he had been sitting on top of his desk explaining his lecture to the students, which there had been just about thirty of them in the class, “You see ladies, metamorphosis focuses on changing who you are. You all know how to go from ordinary human girls into powerful fairies, but did you know you could use your magic to turn yourselves into anything you want?”

This managed to peak at the class’s interest. Even Natalya, who was intrigued hearing this, found herself paying attention to the educator since well… No, she didn’t know that at all in the first place.

“Once you master it,” The Professor only continued with a smirk drawn to his face as he stood up from the desk, “You can turn yourself into anything. From the tiniest pebble to even a larger version of yourself. Fun fact; someone who works at this school uses metamorphosis to discipline fairies for some reason. While I don’t agree with it, that’s just an example… Ahh, how does she look like again?”

As he said this, all it had taken was for him to adjust the glasses that he was wearing before snapping his fingers. Within seconds of doing this, a bright glow filled around his body which had all of the fairies shocked then and there. The male professor who had stood there once was now turned into… A middle-aged woman, blonde hair, red pair of glasses…

…He had turned himself into Glynda!

The second he had done this transformation, almost all of the girls had been on the edges of their seats. At first, they had believed that it was actually Glynda… But by the laughter that came from the individual in the front of the room, that didn’t seem to be the case at all. Even Natalya and Florentyna found themselves horrified thinking that it was the actual Head of Discipline; but in reality, it was their Professor simply pulling a trick.

“Don’t worry ladies, I’m not actually the Queen of Detention herself,” Laughter could be heard from the front of the classroom as everyone watched. To the Professor, this was hilarious, but it was part of the lecture he was trying to reach about transformations. As ‘he’ stood there, he continued on with his explanation, “The beauty of magic is that you can go back to being you at any time. But, having this ability to change into different things is great. Say you’re on a mission as a future guardian fairy of your planet, and you need to get past some guards… Easy peasy,” With this sentence, he had clapped and soon had transformed back to his original self standing there, “You use metamorphosis to change yourself into looking like a guard too. Which leads to my next part of this lecture.” 

Once he had been back to his normal appearance, Professor Keldan had proceeded with snapping his fingers where soon, a PowerPoint had appeared with the same mirror that had been on everyone’s desks. The students in the classroom were confused by this, but the second a caption of ‘class exercise’ appeared underneath the image of the mirror, then it all made sense.

“For today, we’ll start with the basics,” He explained before motioning to the mirrors that were on everyone’s desks, “As in, you’ll be able to practice one of the easiest exercises on yourself. Which is changing your hair color. I’m sure you noticed the mirrors on your desk, which is what you’ll be using in order to conduct the magic on yourself. This requires no spell, but you should all be able to breeze through this easily.” With that being said, he clasped his hands together, “Go ahead, focus that power energy in you and see what you can do. Let me know if you have any questions.”

Change your own hair color. The thing was, the concept of it didn’t sound hard at all to Natalya.It seemed already Florentyna already was having her fun as she had picked up her mirror; running her fingers through her own hair since well, it was a temporary spell. 

Florentyna then brought the mirror to her face as she looked at herself; staring right at her hair before her eyes glew of power. Natalya watched this, curious to see what she could do before within seconds… The blonde hair that belonged to the woman had turned, well, into a brunette.

“Yeesh, I am so glad my mom convinced me to not dye my hair darker,” Florentyna began, now looking at Natalya with a smile on her face, “Brunette is pretty, but it’s just not my style, you know?” 

“You sound like every Beverly Hill blonde I’ve met…” Natalya couldn’t help but chuckle, but when seeing the confusion on Florentyna’s face, she clarified, “On Earth, we joke about blondes being dumb in America. But someone made a movie about how a blonde managed to get into law school and showed that can be smart… Point is, I think you look better blonde.”

This confused Florentyna of course since she had no idea what one, a ‘Beverly Hills’ was. Two,what was law school? Sometimes she didn’t get Natalya, but she’d rather not question it, “Thanks Nat. You should try the spell. It’s not hard.”

Not hard… This made Natalya nervous now as she looked over at the mirror on her desk. She had no idea what she had to do. So what she decided was to look at herself in the mirror, close her eyes tightly and tell herself in her mind over and over again to change color.

But… Nothing had happened. 

As she opened her eyes, she frowned seeing that nothing had taken place at all. No change, no hair color difference - nothing. Already people in the class seemed to have figured it out, but she was the only one who was struggling. That seemed to be a bad thing, well, from her point of view because the Professor noticed this right away and approached her.

“Ms. Arlovskaya,” The Professor had approached her, looking down at her noticing that she seemed to have been struggling. Great, this was the last thing she needed for today. This was what, the third time she wasn’t able to do a transformation spell, “You know, you’re a very smart girl. Managed to ace all your quizzes, but you seem to be lacking in that department of well… Connecting to your power.”

“Connecting to my power?” As Natalya heard this, she looked up at the Professor, intrigued once more, “What do you mean?”

“Exactly as I said it,” The Professor picked up the mirror that was on her desk, now beginning to fiddle with the handle, “If you want to be able to use your magic, you need to connect to that energy inside your heart. Magic doesn’t work if you just ask or tell it to. It’s like any other function of your body, like writing, reading… Using your brain,” The end of the mirror was poked against Natalya’s head to emphasize this, “I think… For now at least, to at least get credit on this exercise, I want you to focus this week on unlocking your Charmix and transformation."

“Transformation…” The second she heard this, Natalya’s expression softened. How the hell was she supposed to achieve that? “…What? My hair outside of class?”

“No,” The professor placed the mirror down and rested his arms behind his back, now kneeling so they were at a similar height seeing that she was sitting down, “Transforming by using your powers. Find that fairy form that makes you special. And once you’ve accomplished that transformation, well, let me know and I’ll give you another shot on this exercise so you can get at least credit today for participation.” 

Focusing on finding her true transformation. This was something that she had struggled understanding, especially after seeing all of her friends easily able to transform. Florentyna described her as a late bloomer… Because it was true. Technically a fairy was supposed to discover her powers at around fourteen with that fairy transformation part of it. But now, she was seventeen, and she was way behind.

The rest of that class seemed to be focused on the idea of transforming and metamorphosis… Which for Natalya, while it was very interesting to learn more about it, she left that class not accomplishing anything. She had not only do her homework but also figure out that ‘charmix’ of hers - the source of energy that would help her grow wings.

“I was the only one who couldn’t do it today, Florentyna,” Natalya began as the two had stepped out of the classroom once they were eventually dismissed a whole hour later. As they walked through the halls, clearly, Natalya wasn’t happy with herself at all, “I don’t know how to use my magic at all… Let alone, I don’t know where to start with transforming myself into my fairy form.”

“Oh you’ll get it, Natalya, I’m sure of it.” Florentyna reassured the other while they walked; holding onto her notebooks since well, it was the last class of the day, so they got to relax for maybe twenty minutes before the dining hall had opened, which not only the two of them but Tatyana, Mei and Monika agreed to go get dinner together, “You just have to look deep inside you. When I unlocked my charmix, it was like… Completely out of the blue. You can’t force it to come out either. You have to look deep into your heart, and it’ll come out like… Getting slapped in the face. Less than a second.”

“…Were you slapped in the face when you unlocked yours?” Natalya couldn’t help but ask with her brows risen in amusement. 

“No-!” Florentyna began with a nervous chuckle. It took just about five minutes to reach the suite of their dorm, which Natalya then had pulled out the keys to unlock it while Florentyna stood beside her, “I mean… I was fourteen, and I was playing outside practicing my magic. All of a sudden I saw a bear because I was playing in the woods when I wasn’t allowed to, and well, it just… Bam, happened.” She explained, “But the first time I flew though, I did knock my head into a branch.”

Hearing this had Natalya snort slightly while unlocking the door. Once the door was unlocked, the two had walked inside before closing the door, “You just have to take it day by day, Nat,” Florentyna continued on with her explanation before placing her books down onto the dining table that was in the kitchen of the suite, “I know Professor Keldan said he wants you to try and get your charmix by the end of the week, but I think you shouldn’t worry about that for now. It’ll happen when it happens.”

One can’t force their charmix to come out… This was interesting to Natalya. For the longest time, she had lived in a mindset that if she wanted to learn something, she would have to practice and study it. But it seemed that the art of discovering one’s charmix was something that happened at random. She didn’t know when she’d transform, but when she did, it would be at a time where she reaches deep into her heart. 

With her belongings dropped off in her room, the two had spent the next ten minutes waiting for their other roommates to arrive from their own classes. It wasn’t long, but once Monika, Mei, and Tatyana had arrived, everyone had gone together to the dining hall to go get something for dinner. 

The dining hall at Lenfia was similar to any dining hall that Natalya has ever been to. The thing was that the hall was very large, but there were a variety of options for students to choose to eat. Once securing themselves a table, one by one the girls had gone off to go into the line to grab themselves something to eat before returning to catch each other up about their days. 

In the midst of their conversation, the topic of Natalya struggling to figure out her powers was brought up. Mainly in the mindset of perhaps seeing if she could get any advice.

“Hm…” Monika had been in the middle of sipping her tea while hearing of the sudden question that was being told. How to figure out one’s own charmix… “Well, I think Florentyna gave you the best advice, Natalya. Really,” She began as she lowered her beverage, “My charmix happened randomly too. I’d like to think of it maybe you have to be in a critical situation in order to unlock it that well… You scare yourself into unlocking it.” 

“That’s going to be the tricky part, you see.” Natalya began with a sigh, now picking at the potatoes she had picked up for her dinner before grabbing a knife and cutting them into pieces to eat, “It’s hard to scare me. That’s why I hate surprises. It never works on me.” 

“My charmix unlocked when I was dreaming,” Tatyana couldn’t help but to mention as she had been in the middle of taking a bite out of her food. Before she continued, of course, she had swallowed and cleared her throat, “I had some sort of dream about seeing a dead forest… and well, it made me wake up wanting to take care of them. So more or less, I reached into my heart when I was unconscious… Because they’re right,” She motioned to Monika and Florentyna, “It’s all based through instinct. Your body will unconsciously do it without you even controlling it.”

All of this advice and truthfully? Natalya had no idea where to start other than just playing the waiting game. As she sat there, she had fiddled around with the locket around her neck trying to think, “Maybe I should give myself a nightmare to unlock it.”

“Or you could just do what I did and be a stupid kid,” Mei couldn’t help but giggle to herself, which obviously caught everyone’s attention at the table, “I mean… When I unlocked mine, I was playing with my siblings. I fell off a roof, but I was so scared that well… I just thought of my powers, and before I even hit the ground, I had wings.” 

“I have an idea!” Florentyna immediately spoke up as she sat up, clasping her hands together in determination, “Maybe if you go on a scary rollercoaster, that’ll scare the shit outta you, and then you’ll pop out your powers then and there!” 

Long stares came from the group when she had said this. Even Natalya, who secretly loved going on rollercoasters whenever she could, was very unamused, “That sounds like the stupidest thing I have ever heard of,” Monika began, which resulted in the group of girls to start laughing. 

However, in the midst of their conversation, what sounded like bells playing had rung in the dining hall. This had managed to catch the attention of all of the students who were in the middle of eating their supper. Even the group of five fairies who had been in the process of giving Natalya advice on unlocking her charmix had all fallen silent.

“ _Good evening, ladies!_ ”A voice from the announcement box came. It wasn’t just in the dining hall, but throughout the entire university campus so everyone could hear. It seemed to be Radella who had been talking. Was she planning on making an announcement? “ _Congratulations on starting off the beginning of week three of the semester. I have a very exciting announcement for you all, so I hope you all at least are sitting down.”_

Exciting announcement? Four of the five fairies at the table were sitting down, minus Florentyna who seemed to be more distracted hearing the announcement that was taking place. Everyone had the same thoughts on their mind - what was Headmistress Radella planning on doing? 

“ _As tradition at Lenfia for the past four hundred years, the beginning of the fourth week of the semester marking it one month since you’re beginnings here, we as faculty members enjoy kicking off the new school year with a formal ball.”_ Radella had spoken, which immediately had gotten everyone’s attention now in that dining hall. Natalya, not so much as she rose a brow with a bit of amusement, “ _This ball will be taking place this Saturday… But oh wait, there’s more.”_ She paused for a moment to clear her throat, “ _This year, we will be welcoming the specialists from the University of Heroics and Bravery to attend as our guests. So for those who choose to attend the ball, I hope you can all be great hostesses to them and make them feel right at home.”_

_“In addition to this,”_ A new voice had come from the speaker, which everyone almost within seconds immediately recognized it as the famous Head of Discipline, Glynda, “ _There will be chaperones present. No love potions and crush spells are all forbidden.”_

_“…With that being said,”_ Radella had interrupted the other woman from continuing her discipline announcement, “ _Dancing is encouraged. I’m sure you all will have a wonderful time - plus, they plan on bringing everyone gifts. I remember my first time attending a ball here at Lenfia, but back then, it was just with my two best friends because the staff back then wasn’t as nice as we are today. They both served with me in The Company of Light.”_ Chuckles could be heard from the students in the dining hall upon hearing this, _“Anyway, it will be an evening full of enchantment. I hope to see most of you there. Have a good evening,”_

A click could be heard once the speaker was turned off. To say the least, the second it was announced that a ball was happening, everyone had been talking loudly in the dining hall in excitement. Florentyna who had been standing as well had excitement filled throughout her face as she looked at her friends, “This is amazing! A ball where we can dance, get gifts from boys, and most importantly - show off our dresses!”

“Oh, it sounds so wonderful.” Tatyana had agreed herself as she sipped her drink, since well, they were all still eating dinner technically, “I’m glad that I managed to pack myself something from home. I heard that balls happen every year at Lenfia, but I didn’t know if it was true or not!” 

A ball… Didn’t seem exciting to Natalya at all. If anything, she only continued to eat her food. The last time she had ever gone to a dance was years ago when she was a first-year in high school… And it was also the same time that she had her first kiss with someone that she chose to purposely not remember.

“Do you think we’ll have an orchestra?” Mei began, clearly more in awe at the thought of the music and dancing that was to take place, “Or a DJ? Even though I’m more into classical things, it’d be amazing to see some electro-kind of music take place.” 

Seeing everyone’s excitement truly did confuse Natalya… Was there something so amazing about going to a ball in the magic dimension? What was there to be different compared to the average ball that took place on Earth? This had resulted in her saying something that shocked the entire group, “…what’s so great about a ball anyway?”

The second she had said this, all of her friends at the table looked at Natalya as if she were crazy. Even Florentyna had stood up, grabbed the girl’s shoulders and forced her to look at her, “It’s great because we get to have fun and let loose, Natalya! You are from a whole other dimension of craziness! Have you ever been to a ball before!?”

“…No.” Natalya responded with a shrug, “But I have been to a dance before. Not the fun-est thing minus the alcohol and that one couple who goes off to fuck in the bathroom.” 

“Oh, so that’s why you’re being a party pooper,” Monika began, better understanding where she was coming from, “You just didn’t have a good time.”

“I guess that’s the way to put it, yeah,” Natalya sighed and took another bite out of her food before swallowing, “Last time I went to a dance, I was fourteen, went with a guy I knew at the time, drank, did dancing, kissed him… And nope. Not fun at all,” 

Florentyna had a large smirk on her face when she had heard this. The grip she had on Natalya’s shoulders loosened a bit as she walked behind the girl and gave her shoulders a squeeze, “Well, didn’t you hear what Headmistress Radella said?~ The boys from UHB are coming with gifts.” 

“…So?” Natalya rose a brow, turning to face the other. 

The second Florentyna heard this, all she had done was lean forward with her smirk growing even more and more. When she was close enough to Natalya’s unamused face, she smirked, “…That means Alfred’s going to be there.”

The second this was reminded to her, Natalya felt her eyes widen and face go red. Son of a… Well, she was right… It was the boys from UHB coming, which meant… Alfred would be coming as well. 

“Ohhhhhh yeah,” Mei couldn’t help but to feel a smirk growing on her own lips; leaning forward to tease Natalya along with Florentyna, “I heard you guys are talking to each other~” 

“—Because he has questions about Earth.” Natalya shot a look over at Mei, clearly annoyed… But also very embarrassed at the same time, “I’m just, helping him out!”

For the rest of the group though, they didn’t believe that at all. “Sure you are,” Monika began with a small snicker to her tone of voice before soon she had reached for her tea to sip from once more, “So, that bouquet of flowers in your room _isn’t_ from him two days ago? Or the fact that you and he have been staying up until 1 AM talking last weekend… That’s just him, ‘asking questions’. _”_

The fact that Natalya was put into a position where she felt as though she was one against four really didn’t help. Especially since well, they all weren’t wrong about what was going on. Yes… She and Alfred were talking, and no, they weren’t talking about Earth at all. 

To say the least, Natalya had purchased a phone that would work inter-dimensionally so she could call her family on Earth. The second she had texted Alfred to let him know of her number, well, they began talking. At first, it was mostly about Earth… But then well, they started to talk about other things such as favorite foods, favorite animals… And oh, one thing that she had found out about Alfred that was true was him being a huge nerd. She wasn’t that much of a nerdy person, but what got her hooked to their conversation was the books he had told her he had read growing up about heroes, which was why he aspired to be one so he could get out of the Kingdom he was from and protect others.

When Natalya had gotten into the question of what Kingdom he was from and what he did, it turns out, she had learned he was a servant for Gilbert’s family who was members of the royal family. This completely blew her mind, because she had no idea at all that Monika was a Princess… A princess in the Kingdom of Eraqion. It seemed so far from what he told her he wanted to go out and help the world, but because of his status, he was stuck serving the King and Queen. 

But during his free time though, he apparently loved to read… Which was what Natalya loved doing as well. Growing up, she read a lot about fairies and witches, but she had no idea that it was so different in the magic dimension. 

Well, it seemed that the second she had mentioned she had liked reading, every morning Alfred texted her poetry. Call it sweet, but damn, it was the first time a guy had ever done something so nice… Then it was sending her flowers, talking to him for hours… He was not only charming, but he was a damn good person. 

A damn good person that she had no idea why he wanted to talk with her. And they kept talking for almost an entire month at that point.

“Okay so, yeah, we’ve been talking.” Natalya looked at the others with her eyes narrowed, “What’s wrong with that? Can’t I talk to a guy without all my parents being peeping toms?” 

The group of girls at the table all began laughing hearing the statement. Even Natalya herself had laughed, because well, it was true. Florentyna said she was nosy, but gosh, living with other fairies for a week - Natalya began to wonder if they were all nosy when it came to her saying that she was talking with a guy. It was the first guy she’s gotten to talk to in years, and well, she liked Alfred a lot. 

Big deal.

“Oh no, there’s no problem at all with that,” Tatyana giggled before reaching over to pat Natalya’s back, “I think it’s sweet. Actually, romantic.”

“Yeah, watch,” Florentyna agreed as she sat down with a grin on her face, “He’s going to call you tonight asking you out to this dance. I’m putting all my money on the table, he’s going to dance with you, maybe take you outside, and ‘you know what’…” As she said this, she had lifted up her hands firstly to make the gesture that her fingers were kissing. Yet, after a moment or so, the kissing gesture had soon turned her into making an ‘ok’ gesture with one hand while her other finger began inserting itself in and out of the hole.

The second Natalya had seen this and realized what she had meant, her eyes had widened and she immediately reached for Florentyna’s hands, pulling them down as the rest of the group of girls started laughing, “Florentyna, I’m fucking eating my dinner here!” 

“Oh come on, he’s got the hots for you, Nat,” Monika began once more before grinning, “My brother says Alfred talks about you a lot in their classes. Come on, I’m betting too he’ll probably ask you out to the ball.”

“Sure sure,” Natalya pulled her hands back from Florentyna who was still laughing to go back to her food, “And ten years he’ll what, propose to because you think he likes me? You’re all fucking insane. We’re just friends.”

The second she had said this though, one of the phones that had been resting on the table had seemed to go off. This was something that had caught the group’s attention… Which the second they had seen the caller ID belonging to specifically Natalya’s phone, all of them had gasped.

Right on the caller ID had been indeed Alfred’s name with a heart emoji right beside it. 

“I KNEW IT!” Florentyna had grabbed the phone and shoved it right at Natalya’s direction, “I told you he’d call you! Now don’t panic. Remain calm, pick up, and whatever you do,” She grabbed onto Natalya’s cheeks and held her face firm, “Do not tell him we’re here because he’s going to get nervous.” 

The karma of it all made it seem like fate was purposely trying to get to her. Natalya definitely wasn’t expecting a call from Alfred, but it seemed that fate really was showing something if all of her friends were convinced he was going to call her about the dance. And so, Natalya looked over at Florentyna and shushed her, “Okay, just, shut up for two seconds,” She began before turning her head away, clearing her throat and answering the phone, “…Hello?”

_“Oh, hey Natty!”_

Silence came from her at first when recognizing the voice, “Alfred, I thought I told you to not call me that. It’s Natya. _Nat-yah_. _”_

_“Ohh I know,”_ Alfred had been in his own dorm laying in bed. However, he had just gotten a mass message from the headmaster of his university announcing about the ball that was going on just less than five minutes ago. He planned on calling Natalya later that evening to just talk with her as they’ve been doing the last few nights, but since the ball was announced… Well, he didn’t want to waste any more time on it, “ _But I like ‘Natty’. It’s got a nice kick to it and makes you unique… Anywhosies, got two seconds that I can ask you something?_ ” 

As she heard this question, Natalya looked right at Florentyna with her eyes widened. If what he planned on asking was what she thought it was, she sure as hell would find a bit more respect towards Florentyna, “Of course,” Natalya began, resulting in both Florentyna and Mei to press their ears against Natalya’s phone so they could at least hear what he was saying, “What is it?” 

“Okay, so.” This was his time to shine. Alfred sat up from his bed; standing up in the process of doing such before walking over to the window of his room. Just outside, it was dark outside with only the moon shining right at his direction, “A little birdie told me that apparently, Lenfia is hosting a ball this weekend and is inviting everyone from UHB to attend…” He began, this ‘birdie’ mainly being at the announcement he got, “I… Was wondering if I could be the one to take you to it. I mean, only if you’re not going with anyone…” 

As he had asked this question, it seemed to be right on cue that the door of his dorm had opened. There, he had turned around to seeing Gilbert holding onto what looked like a package of alcohol which they planned to have tonight. Though the albino, when hearing the mentioning of going to a ball and if he could ‘take someone to it’, Gilbert’s jaw dropped. Alfred, of course, covered the microphone of his phone, shushing the other so he wouldn’t say anything before going back to see what Natalya would say.

“I’m not going with anyone.” Natalya firstly clarified when hearing this. Wow, she actually couldn’t believe it… Her friends were right. The guy was actually asking her out on well, what was technically a date. So when he had laid it out with the question, she took in a breath, “Yeah, I would love to go with you—“

“ _—Really?_!” The second Alfred had heard this, almost instantly he began throwing his hands up in the air almost as if he had been celebrating the fact that she said yes. This left Gilbert, confused, staring at the man as he already had gone to reach for one of the bottles of beer he had in his bag, “ _I mean, okay, awesome! Great, I’ll see you on Saturday, then?_ ”

“Yeah.” Natalya chuckled, now noticing Florentyna and Mei practically jumping up and down in excitement hearing the agreement that came between the two. Tatyana even had been smiling and clasping her hands together, truly happy for her friend while Monika had been sitting in her seat snickering at the matter, “I’ll see you Saturday.” 

“ _Great!”_ Alfred had approached the bag that Gilbert had brought to reach for one of the beers, clearly taking this as his opportunity to celebrate, “ _Talk to you then!”_

_Click._

Alfred had tossed his phone onto his bed. Based on the way he had been acting, Gilbert could tell that it was a sign of good news as he took a sip out of his drink, “Good news?” Gilbert had eventually asked; raising a brow when seeing the other beginning to swing his hands into the air in excitement.

“Hell yeah, man.” As Alfred said this, he walked over to his computer that had been on a desk and scrolled open to a webpage tab. From there, he had gone to his emails where the announcement was sent out by the headmaster of their university, “Check it out. There’s a ball going on at Lenfia this weekend, I figured I’d call Natalya and ask if I could take her to it… And she said yes!”

Gilbert rose a brow hearing the mentioning of a ball, this being indeed intriguing to him. This was the same ball that Lenfia had every year, but he didn’t go last year because he didn’t see the reason to go. Alfred had gone, but from his understanding, he had only gone to go check it out and not necessarily for the dance, “Well, damn,” He began and looked at the blonde, “She doesn’t seem like the person who says yes to a lot of things.”

“That’s the best part!” Alfred began in laughter, clearly proud of what he had managed to accomplish, “Dude, I don’t know if you realized this, but… Natalya’s great. Sure, when Florentyna said she was pretty but quiet, kind of creepy - yeah, it’s true… But when you get to know her, she’s not bad at all! She’s smart, she’s beautiful, she doesn’t give a shit about what anyone has to think… And she has a thing for dark humor!”

“…Dark, humor?” Gilbert stared for a long time, “Like the shit you laugh at when you see a meme online?”

“Yes!” Alfred sat down on the bed, clearly just overall happy about how the circumstances were turning out, “The thing about her too is that she’s not like any magical being you meet in this dimension… A lot of people brag about their powers, tend to show it off… But she’s not like that. She acts completely normal,” He began, “A normal person that I can talk to, unlike my family that’s all about magic… she’s amazing.”

“Amazing, huh?” Gilbert couldn’t help but chuckle now as he finished his can of beer. Oh, he knew exactly where this was going. As he tossed his can out, he had gone to their shared fridge to put the alcohol away, “Something tells me someone may be in love…” 

A pause came from Alfred when he had heard this. Nervously, he laughed… That was a funny joke. Yes, Natalya made him really happy… But… Was that the case? “I mean… come on dude,” Alfred looked over at the other, “I just… can’t stop thinking about her.” 

_Yep… It’s hopeless._ Gilbert thought to himself now as e finished putting away the drinks. Once they were, he went over to his bed to sit down and stretch. The guy was in love. Head over heels for the girl. Quite literally. However, one thing that he couldn’t help but bring up in the midst of their conversation had been, “Yeah, you’re in love dude.” He started off, “But… Alfred, does she know who you _really_ are?” 

“Well, duh.” Alfred looked over at the other, clearly confused on what he meant, “What are you talking about? She knows what I like, we have mutual interests, what’s there I’m forgetting?” 

Gilbert looked at him, almost surprised to see that the guy had actually forgotten about one of the biggest, most important parts about him, “Alfred… dude.” He began, “You didn’t tell her about your family? What your status is in Eraqion? What _you_ are considered in this whole magical dimension?” 

“…well…” Alfred hesitated for a moment. There may have been something he did forget to tell Natalya… But, there had been a reason why he didn’t tell her the truth, “Okay yeah, I didn’t tell her I’m the Prince of Eraqion. So what?” The second he had said this, a loud sigh came from Gilbert, “That’s not important.”

“Yes, it is!” Gilbert stood up from his bed, “You’re technically the next heir to the throne. You’re going to have to tell her man,” He reminded the other, “I’m not going to force it now, but at some point, you have to tell her. Because I’m not going to cover your ass when you’re alone with her and the media sees you with a girl from Earth.”

Alfred sighed heavily. Why did Gilbert have to be the one to remind him of that? Yes, he was a prince, but he tended to not focus on his royal life. After all, he came to UHB to get away from that life. And it was great… He made normal friends, he met Natalya who was nowhere near royal - it was all going so smooth.

“Look, I’ll tell her eventually,” Alfred reassured the other, “When the time is right. I promise….” It seemed that Gilbert looked suspicious still at him, but alas, Alfred kept himself back from saying any more of the subject as he approached the closet of his room to see what clothes he had, “…Now, what should I plan on wearing?…”

* * *

“… _Oh my god, I have nothing to wear.”_

The phone call was so quick, so painless, so easy for Natalya once she had hung up. The first thing that came to her mind that while she was looking forward to going to this ball with Alfred, she was forgetting one of the biggest, most important things that were required for any ball…

…and that was she didn’t have a dress! 

The second she had said this, the group of fairies and herself already had begun gathering their empty plates to drop off in the kitchen of the university to be cleaned. Florentyna had let out what sounded to be one of the loudest gasps she had ever let out, resulting in the group to look over at her as if she were crazy.

“That is a huge no-no in my book!” Florentyna began after dropping her plates off before quickly, she had reached for her phone. This confused Natalya at first, but it seemed that there was a reason for it, “Natalya, first thing Saturday morning before the ball,” She held out her phone, seeing that there was a reason as to why she pulled it out. Upon looking at the screen, it seemed that there had been a few sales going on in Magix with clothing, “We’re going shopping for dresses! No ifs, ands, or butts! I’m going to make sure you look amazing for this date, got it?”

“…is it even a date?” Natalya muttered, moving the phone to the side as she and the rest of the group began walking out of the dining hall so they could go back to their suite, “I mean, we’re just going together—“

“—Yes, it is!” Florentyna wrapped an arm around Natalya’s shoulders, looking prideful while they walked, “It’s like any romance story! Guy takes the girl out to the ball, they go outside, kiss for the first time, maybe fuck, who knows! Anyway-“ She let her go now to grab her shoulders, “Saturday. Morning. Understood? And everyone else has to come too because mama’s gonna need extra eyes to make sure we can find you the perfect dress!”

“Oh, shopping!” Tatyana couldn’t help but laugh softly to herself while cupping her own cheeks, “I haven’t gone shopping in so long, I’d love to.”

“Sure,” Monika nodded in agreement, not opposed to it, “We have a lot of homework to do this week if we want to make sure we’re free for the ball, so I should be done by Saturday morning. Why not?” 

The expression on Natalya’s face showed that she believed Florentyna was more excited about this date than even she was. But of course, she wouldn’t question it at all. Instead, she sighed and gave a nod to the other blonde, “Okay, Florentyna. I understand.”

“Great!” Once Natalya agreed, Florentyna had walked ahead from the group almost as if she could make sure she could talk to all of them at once, “Operation: Get Natalya ready for her first date…

_…is a go!_ ”

* * *

Miles away from the Lenfia’s college campus, word about the said ball had managed to reach the ears of other universities throughout the magic dimension. Since it was indeed going to be a major event for only students of Lenfia and UHB, there had been a lot of talk about it online. 

This event though managed to reach out to one individual who seemed to be heavily amused at her work-desk seeing the announcements that came about Lenfia’s ball. 

“ _A ball at Lenfia…”_ A middle-aged woman began; her fingers holding onto what looked like a wand. As she held onto the wand, she twirled it with interest. How marvelous - a ball where fairies and heroes would be getting together to welcome the new school year. This had an idea come to her mind. 

Sitting up from her desk, the woman had reached over on her desk for what looked like a microphone. Spiderwebs had covered it, which she had dusted it off quickly before clearing her throat and pressing one red button to belong to it. This had resulted in what sounded like an announcement noise to be made throughout the building she was in.

“… _Witches and warlocks, this is Headmistress Evanora speaking.”_ She spoke into the microphone as her voice traveled throughout the entire school. As she said there, she had kicked her legs up onto the table of her desk; continuing to play with her wand, “ _I hope you first years had a disgusting first month here at the University of Dark Arts in the Tower of the Dead… Now, the reason why I am making this announcement is that I just got word of a very interesting event. If you’d turn to your devices, please, I’ve sent out a message to each and every one of you students,_ ”

The students of the University of Dark Arts were all either in the middle of supper or in their own dormitories. The Tower of the Dead was no beautiful place at all when compared to Lenfia. It was darker, radiated darker energy and screamed negative magic all over. It was the perfect place for any witch or warlock that strived to become trained well In the use of dark magic.

Amongst these students, included three powerful witches as well who had been in their dormitory at that moment. Gelinda, in particular, had been listening to the announcement while Aviana and Nebula seemed to be working on an assignment for one of their dark-potions classes. Gelinda looked at her phone, reading the message that was sent before her eyes widened, realizing what it was.

“ _If you are on a device, as you can see, Lenfia College for Fairies will be having their annual ball this Saturday to welcome the new school year,”_ Headmistress Evanora had only continued with her announcement, “ _Apparently, hero specialists from the University of Heroics and Bravery will also be there as well. This is why I am also excited to announce about a school-wide competition for every student, regardless of year or skill level in dark arts magic. The objective of this competition is simple and cruel - which is to sabotage Lenfia’s precious little ball.”_

The second Gelinda had heard this, she had sat up from her bed and felt a large smirk forming along her face. It seemed that the other two hadn’t been paying attention, resulting in her to roll her eyes as she reached for a pillow, throwing it at the other two’s direction, “Sisters, listen to the headmistress.”

“What the fuck, Gelinda!?” Aviana had spoken out first, glaring right at the other, “We were almost done with this project!”

“Just shut up and listen,” Gelinda began, now standing up to approach the two to reveal her phone as the announcement continued to take place.

Evanora had placed her wand down now to sit up straight in her seat to further explain the instructions, “ _The individuals who are to bring to be a one page paper with an idea that’ll sabotage the ball will not only receive a gift certificate to the dark potions clinic in Magix, but I will personally give you one month free of any homework assignments. All interested participants should submit their proposals with their names in a box outside of my office, and I shall reach out to the students who have won personally. I highly encourage that you use as much magic from the dark arts as possible… May the worst witch or warlock, win._ ” 

A click could be heard once the speaker had shut off, Once the announcement was indeed over, a large smirk had been present on Gelinda’s face as she looked at the other two witches. It was perfect… 

…Absolutely a perfect chance to not only get into Lenfia, but to see if they could find the ring and steal it from Florentyna.

“I think this is the perfect opportunity to steal Florentyna’s ring,” Gelinda had spoken in a whisper to the two other witches.

“Yes, but,” Nebula began with her arms crossed under her chest, “The point is to sabotage the ball.”

“So?” Gelinda smirked at the other and put her phone back into her pocket, “We’ll kill two birds with one stone…. 

_…because I have an idea._ ”

* * *

The remainder of the week at Lenfia seemed to have gone by very slowly for the majority of fairies. However, during this time, it was Natalya’s chance to really work with her powers and figure out what exactly it took to set it off. 

But so far, nothing seemed to have worked… From practicing to saying spells aloud, trying to get her focus into a straight line - nothing had seemed to work. It was almost as if her heart was in that lock that was preventing her to let her have access to her power unless she were to figure out that key. 

As for what the key to her power was? She had no idea.

There was no time that could be wasted though. Now that the weekend was quickly approaching, she had to get as much work as she could be done before the ball. And that’s what she ended up doing that entire week, which was focusing on her assignments for school. 

Alas, the day eventually did arrive for the ball. But as all the girls had agreed earlier on that Monday, they would all wake up early Saturday morning to take the first bus into Magix so they could go shopping. They would’ve done it earlier in the week, but seeing that they all had schoolwork to do, it was practically impossible at that point. 

It had been just around 8 AM when all of the girls had gotten up to get ready for this shopping trip. Mainly for Natalya, as well as Florentyna who seemed to not have had made a decision on what dress to wear despite having over twenty dresses in her closet at that very moment. 

Once they were all settled, the first bus was scheduled to leave right at 9 AM. All of them, despite being tired from staying up the night before working on their schoolwork, did make it to the bus with their wallets, ready for what seemed to be a planned, expensive day. 

The trip to Magix took just about ten minutes that morning, which was good since it seemed that they all had managed to make it at a time where it wasn’t busy. Stores were just about to open, some people had mainly been getting breakfast - it was calm, to say the least. 

The plan was mainly at first to find Florentyna her dress, seeing that she was pickier than Natalya when it came to her outfits. The very first shop that they all had decided to attend to, well, they weren’t expecting for Florentyna to be choosing her dress in that store. The girls had spent a good, solid hour at the store after opening for Florentyna to try on different dresses that they thought looked good on her. 

While all options that the group had chosen for Florentyna didn’t seem to work in her favor, there was one dress in particular that Tatyana had suggested she try on. This dress has a beautiful gold gown with ruffles at the end, that showed it was meant for a ball but also for dancing. This dress was something that Florentyna had tried on, and ultimately, she had decided that it was the dress she would get.

Approaching the register to purchase the dress though, the cost was what made Natalya almost faint on the spot hearing how much it was.

“…20,000!?” Natalya couldn’t help but choke hearing the cost, looking at Florentyna as if she had been expecting her to put it back, “That’s ten times more than what I have!”

But oh no, that wasn’t the case at all.

All Florentyna had done was nod in understanding before reaching for her wallet, pulling out what looked like to be a credit card, “Oh it’s fine. My daddy gave me a credit card specifically for the semester for emergencies,” She reassured the other, “It’ll probably max out, I’ll live off of the school dining hall until the next semester.”

And maxed out was exactly what had happened with the card after the cashier and swiped it. Once the card was exchanged back, Florentyna had taken her bag happily with her dress before the group of girls had stepped out of the first dress store. While they thought it would be longer to get Florentyna’s dress, that wasn’t the case at all until it came to Natalya.

The dress shop that they had decided to go to next was a boutique specifically targeted for balls and dances. For Natalya, all of the dresses were gorgeous… But it had to be cost-friendly on her end because she didn’t have a big allowance at all. Plus, her allowance was what she made working at her family’s bakery back home. Now that she wasn’t working, she needed to make sure she didn’t spend all of it so she could get through the remainder of the semester. 

The dresses that her friends chose out for her to wear tough, were way over her budget. From beautiful gowns to shorter gowns, all of them seemed to have their preferences on what exactly should get. Natalya of course, placed the mannequin as she tried each dress on, but some of them she didn’t even understand how it worked. There was one dress that was meant to be half a skirt, half a pant of a leg…. 

…Sometimes she wondered why fashion was so weird in the magic dimension compared to Earth.

Eventually, though, there was one dress that all of her friends insisted that she wear and get. This dress in particular though was indeed a beautiful gown with ruffles throughout the skirt, a dark navy blue and had a choker around her neck to compliment the look. Though the second Natalya saw the price, her face went pale.

“…I can’t afford this,” Natalya began, staring at the price tag that read right on its label: 40,000. It was _completely_ out of her budget and there was no way she could afford it!

But in the name of fashion, Florentyna had gasped as she reached into her wallet, “No no no, I’ll pay it for you, Nat. I’ve got another credit card in here-“ She started off, which resulted in Natalya’s eyes to widen and her expression grew dark. If there was one thing Natalya absolutely hated, it was when her friends tried covering for her. Especially with money.

Tatyana seemed to notice the distraught on Natalya’s expression. Thus, resulting in her to grab onto Florentyna’s shoulder to remind her, “You can’t. You maxed out both your credit cards last weekend when you went shopping, and now today with your third card.”

To Natalya, this sounded like an absolute relief as she stepped into the changing room to get out of the dress. Florentyna, on the other hand, frowned as she put her wallet away, “Damn… That dress looked so good though!” She began, “What are we going to do?”

“Simple.” From the changing room, Natalya had spoken out to the group as she got back into her normal attire of clothes. Today, in particular, was a regular pair of jeans, a light blue blouse, some boots and on the top of her head she had been wearing a black hairband, “I’m just going to go into the clearance aisle. Nothing bad about that.”

“C-C-Clearance!?” Florentyna had clutched onto her chest, dramatically preparing to faint as Mei had rushed over to catch her; fanning her in the process of doing so.

“…What’s wrong with clearance?” Mei had asked, not seeing a problem with it at all while she fanned Florentyna, “Good way to save money.”

“No!” Florentyna sat up now, wiping off what looked like a fake tear in her eyes to emphasize the idea of being dramatic, “Clearance is a disgrace to the name of fashion! How could you put yourself so low?”

“Florentyna, newsflash,” Natalya began as she stepped out of the closet; handing the dress she was wearing before back to the salesclerk with a small nod of thanks, “The entire outfit I’m wearing right now? Is clearance. And you said you liked my top.”

Silence came from the other when Natalya had called her out. It was indeed a fair point, but there was indeed a bigger issue at hand: Where would there be clearance sales going on?

All of them had no idea, including Natalya who was still new to the city and didn’t know what stores were the best to go to. 

After leaving the boutique, Natalya had thought to herself before speaking to her friends, “Listen,” She began as they walked, “You guys should head back to Lenfia… It’s almost one o’clock and the ball starts at five, right? I think I’m going to be here for another hour or two until I can find a place that sells cheap dresses.” 

“Are you sure?” Tatyana had looked over at the other, clearly worried about if she wasn’t able to find anything.

But of course, Natalya was determined to find a dress. She didn’t know what would happen if she didn’t, but it seemed that Florentyna had her covered. “Okay Nat,” She began, “If you can’t find a dress, call me, and I’ll see if one of my dresses will fit you. It may be a bit too long on you, but I’m sure we can make it work if I pin a few pieces.”

That was a fair point. The only reason why Natalya didn’t agree to wear her dresses was that Florentyna was at around 5’6” in height, while she was stuck at a good 5’3”. She would be tripping on her feet if anything.

“Deal.” Natalya nodded in agreement, at least figuring that it would be best to at least have her friends go worried about themselves for this ball while she had a chance to figure out what she was going to do. 

The thing was, Natalya truly had no idea what she was going to do. When her friends had gone to go back to Lenfia, she was left by herself in the shopping district of Magix; running around through different entrances of stores to see if there was a sale at least going on. 

For the first few stores, there weren’t any sales at all. Natalya could feel herself getting frustrated, but she wouldn’t give up, “How am I supposed to find a dress that’ll be under a hundred in costs?…” She wondered to herself while continuing to sprint through the district. 

However, something from the side of her eye managed to catch her attention.

A smaller store that looked like to be going out of business had its doors wide open. But what managed to catch her attention the most was the large ‘SALE’ posters, in addition to the ‘ALL ITEMS ON CLEARANCE’. 

It was perfect! She didn’t care how the store looked busy. Natalya had sprinted inside the shop; this being her chance to go through the clearance to see if she could find something. Anything that would work as a dress. Even if she had to alter it, at least Florentyna had a sewing machine she could borrow. 

At first, the few dresses that she managed to find were pretty, but it didn’t seem perfect for a first date with Alfred. She had told herself that it was the first date to make the pressure even worse on her, that way she could stay motivated and find a dress that at least suited her tastes. Luck seemed to be in her favor though after an hour of searching.

At the bottom of one bin of dresses had been a gorgeous, beautiful white gown. It looked like no one had worn it and looked brand new. It was shoulderless with a beautiful wide skirt that had flower laced up to the waist. The only issue with it was well, she knew she’d have to not only adjust the length of the skirt, but it was a bit too small around her waist. 

That wasn’t a problem at all. She could run it through the sewing machine and made sure it fit her without any problem whatsoever. 

And so, that was the dress she had decided on getting. After grabbing it, she had quickly run-up to the cashier with her wallet, made the transaction, and was off with her new dress. The thing was that she spent a good two hours in that store trying to find a dress that would work, making it just about three o’clock now.

The ball started at five, which meant she had to get straight back to Lenfia since she knew it was going to take her at least more than an hour to not only fix the dress but also get herself ready. 

Getting ready for the ball was what exactly everyone had been doing by the time she managed to get back to Lenfia, which was about half-an-hour after she had picked up the dress. Decorations were being put up, a huge majority of the students seemed to be in their suites getting ready… 

…And well, the second Natalya had burst into her suite, she had called out, “Florentyna! I need your sewing machine!” 

Just as all of the fairies at Lenfia had been preparing for this ball, planning had been currently being executed over at the University of Dark Arts. The headmistress had received plenty of submissions to her proposal that was made earlier that week about how to sabotage Lenfia’s ball, but there was one in particular that managed to catch her attention.

And so, the one that managed to catch Evanora’s attention had been specifically by the three witches who stood before her desk. She had been wearing her reading glasses as she looked over the proposal once more; a devilish grin plastered on her face, “Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula… Your proposal is absolutely disgusting. I have received a number of proposals, but yours repulsive, revolting — despicable!” As she said this, she looked up at the group of witches, “…In other words, ladies… it’s perfect.” 

As all three witches stood there and listened to their headmistress preach on about their proposal, it was one thing that Gelinda personally couldn’t help but be proud of. After all, it was something that she, Aviana and Nebula had come up with easily on the spot. They all detested fairies religiously, so to bring torture to them? It was an easy mission that they’d be happy to take on. 

Seems that Headmistress Evanora was also in favor of letting them execute their plan as well.

“That’s so sweet,” Gelinda began with a smirk, now brushing her hair to the side, “Thank you, headmistress.”

“It is the perfect thing to ruin their fun,” As the headmistress spoke, she stood up from her seat with the said proposal in her hand. From there, she had approached the witches, reading it out loud what was on the paper, “‘Creatures of the dead being used to release a poisonous spray in order to encourage illness, which includes projectile vomiting and bleeding from the mouth.’” She cleared her throat, “Absolutely brilliant. Truly. With that being said,” She handed the proposal back to the witches, “You should plan to leave to execute your plan in the next hour. The ball is to start at five o’clock… And well, I shall plan on having your gift certificate sent to your room later this evening.”

“Thank you again, ma’am,” Gelinda took the proposal; folding it quickly to stuff into her pocket so at least before she and the other witches planned to leave to retrieve the ring, they could remember the spell they planned on using.

“ _…We will not disappoint you_.” 

* * *

If there was one thing she was glad about, it was that she had grown up being taught how to use a sewing machine. The second Florentyna had given Natalya the go-ahead to use it, Natalya already was getting all of the materials that she needed in order to fix the dress. Thread, check. Pins, check. Machine, check…

…Scissors? That was a huge no.

As Natalya looked at her items to complete the task of fixing the dress, she knew that she was on a time constraint. She had a good two hours to fix the dress, but the thing was that guests would begin to arrive in the next _30_ minutes if they so choose to do due to Lenfia offering to hold a banquet dinner. 

Already, her friends had left for this dinner so they could pick out good seats. Natalya was struggling with what she was going to do with the dress she had. She needed scissors, and she had to fix the dress before she actually got herself ready in the first place!

Natalya searched all around the suite. From her own belongings to Florentyna’s sewing kit, to the kitchen - she couldn’t find anything that would work like scissors. She tried not to make a mess searching for them, but she did end up leaving things out for the sake of panic due to her time crunch. She’d be late for the banquet, but she refused to be late for the ball.

“You go to a magic school,” Natalya huffed to herself in annoyance as she searched through another drawer in the kitchen of the suite, “But we don’t have any scissors!? What’s the point of having magic if you can’t use it for the simplest things like cutting fabric…”

That was right, at least for her, who still had no idea how to use her powers at all. Even if she tried to use her powers on her dress, it was too much of a big risk of getting it damaged by doing something on accident. Though as she rummaged through the drawers, she could hear talking outside the window of the kitchen which caught her attention. All she had done was peek through the window to see what looked like ships landing outside of Lenfia’s campus…

…Oh no. Were those the boys from UHB? 

“Fuck!” Natalya cursed under her native tongue as she slammed the drawer closed, trying to think. Where could there be scissors… She had no idea. But she knew for a fact that there weren’t any scissors in her room.

With that, she had decided to take the journey out of her room to see if she could find a pair. The main goal was to not get caught by anyone who was going to the ball because she was still in her regular attire from going shopping earlier. 

Wandering through the hallways on a huge event such as that evening was a very interesting experience. Kind of creepy, she couldn’t help but think since the lights were dimmer to indicate that classrooms were closed and everyone should be in either the dining hall for the banquet or the auditorium to prepare for the dance.

However, as Natalya wandered the halls peeking into each classroom to see if there were any unlocked to find scissors, three female guests had been wandering through the underground of the campus.

In her hands, Aviana had been holding onto a map that would direct them from the Tower of the Dead straight to the underground basement of Lenfia. If the map was correct, they would be on the first floor where it was rumored to be where the heroes from UHB had hidden the presents that were to be given to the fairies later that evening. 

“Are we almost there?” Nebula had spoken out while holding onto what looked like a water bottle. For them, the witches had walked a good three miles to get where they were, “I understand no broomsticks or flying, but if I knew we would be walking for this long, I would’ve actually worn some damn sneakers.”

“No, don’t even start with your witching whining,” Gelinda had spoken out while holding onto a flashlight; glaring right at the direction of where Nebula was, “Once we get the ring from Florentyna and we’re able to rule with her power, we’ll be riding chariots everywhere.” 

“Fine,” Nebula let out what sounded like an annoyed huff before looking over Aviana’s shoulders, “Can you at least confirm we’re almost there?”

“Yeah,” Aviana lowered the map before glancing up ahead. It looked like they had a few hundred feet to go, which resulted in her pointing ahead, “See that light up ahead? That’s the staircase that’ll take us to the first floor.” 

“Great,” Nebula rolled her eyes, “More walking…”

Again, just outside where the witches were walking towards had been a wandering Natalya. Just walking around the first floor of the college was definitely an experience she would have to write in a book one day, especially since she’s never seen a college campus so dead like it was right now. 

This didn’t neglect the fact though that she was indeed very annoyed at the fact that she couldn’t find any scissors, “This is so ridiculous…” Natalya muttered in annoyance while continuing to wander through the hallway; peeking her head through any glass door that she could find to see if she can go in.

However, there was one door, in particular, that managed to stand out to her upon hearing loud clashing from inside it. As she was just about to pass by it, Natalya paused and looked at it. The door looked like a normal one… It wasn’t a classroom, but it was small and seemed to be for maintenance? 

“What the hell was that…?” She began upon inspecting it. She didn’t know if it was open… Wouldn’t hurt to check, right? No one was around. And so, with reaching over to the handle, she had twisted it open to discover that it was indeed unlocked. Wow, she supposed not everything was locked in there. She opened the door fully now and peeked her head inside. 

It was very dark, minus what seemed to be a torch-lit above her head. She could see a staircase, but what managed to catch her attention though was what had her eyes widen.

_“How much longer again?”  
  
“Would you shut up, Nebula? The stairs are right there.”_

Natalya’s eyes widened right away when she had realized who it was… It was the witches! What were they doing there? Let alone, on a night when Lenfia was having a ball? Witches didn’t seem to like dances or balls at all, so the thought stuck on her mind trying to figure it out as she dashed up the stairs and closed the door to hide.

She had no idea what they were up to… Were they here to snoop around? She had no idea, but that didn’t stop her from hiding in a corner the second the door had opened up. Just as she had suspected, the three witches who had been wearing cloaks, stepped outside and silently shut the door. From what Natalya could see from her corner, Aviana had been holding onto a map while Gelinda had been holding onto a flashlight.

“Where to?” Gelinda began, now turning off the light so no one would notice them.

Aviana had looked at the other witch with her brows risen before going back to the map, “From here? Straight down, first right,” She began, now beginning to lead the other two witches in the direction she had said to go.

For Natalya… Well, she knew she couldn’t pretend that they were there. They were dangerous. Sure, maybe she deserved it trying to pick a fight with them when she hadn’t figured out her powers yet, but that didn’t neglect the fact that they were still dangerous and could bring harm. And so, she followed them in silence; using the corners of each hallway to hide her trace. Which seemed to work pretty well. 

From what she observed after they had gone down and taken the first right, they had approached what looked to be a closet door. Gelinda had been the one to open it, which once it was, inside had revealed a large golden treasure chest. 

“Bingo.” Gelinda had stepped inside the closet, pulling out the case to open it, “The UHB gifts.”

“That is… so cheesy.” Aviana began, waiting for the other to open the case. Once Gelinda did, she had knelt down to observe what was inside the treasure box. What it seemed to be were eggs with decorative patterning all over them. For any fairy, it would be considered gorgeous. For any witch though? It was disgusting, “It’s those enchanted eggs that when a fairy breaks it open, butterflies come out of it.”

“Disgusting…” Nebula scoffed seeing the eggs, already wanting to break them all open on the spot. 

“Indeed… Anyway, let’s not forget the important part of this mission.” Gelinda had looked over at the other two, “Nebula and I will handle the spell… You Aviana, locate the ring.” 

Hearing these words from her corner gave Natalya the confirmation she needed to know. So the witches not only were trying to do something to the UHB gifts, but they were again after Florentyna’s ring. Perhaps they took this as their opportunity to steal the ring now that everyone was at the ball.

Damn, these witches were smarter than she thought they would be.

Aviana nodded at the instruction and soon had held out her hands in silence. What sounded like murmuring came from her, which Natalya didn’t understand at all… But in any magical being’s language, it was easily understood.

“ _Show me where she hid the ring…”_ Aviana had chanted as her eyes glowed, filled with power as she hummed to herself, “… _Show us were Florentyna hid the ring…”_

For one thing, Natalya knew exactly where the ring was. The ring wasn’t on Florentyna, because earlier while she was in the process of begging the other to let her use her sewing machine, Florentyna had decided that she would take off the ring and put it away for the ball.

“ _I’m going to leave it right in my jewelry chest!”_ Natalya could remember in her mind hearing those exact words from Florentyna, “ _After all, this ring doesn’t match my dress at all.”_

The ring was in a chest located underneath her bed in a case. Natalya swallowed nervously; continuing to watch if Aviana would figure it out… Though when seeing the large smirk that was plastered on her face, that didn’t look like a good sign at all.

“…I’ll be back,” Aviana began, now snapping her fingers and vanishing in thin air, leaving the two other witches there.

As for Gelinda and Nebula? Well, Natalya noticed right away what was going on. While Aviana had been in the process of locating Florentyna’s ring, Gelinda and Nebula seemed to have taken hands with one another while their other hands had reached for the wands placed at their hips. Once the wands were in hand, they had pointed it in the direction of the treasure chest that contained the gift from the boys of UHB.

“ _Turn the enchanted into the cursed._ ” Gelinda and Nebula had said together while a bright glow formed at the tip of their wands. As they did so, dark energy formed around their bodies and the treasure chest, “ _Give them a bite that’ll make them puke first. The eggs shall hatch and snake rats will appear, and spread panic, nausea, and blood._ ” 

It was… Absolutely terrible! From just listening to it, Natalya had no idea what kind of spell they had cast, but nausea and blood didn’t sound good at all to her. On occasion, she was into some dark humor - but not this kind of dark humor pranks!

A bright glow had formed around the eggs once the witches had finished casting the spell. It was there that as they did so, the eggs that were once beautiful and gold had turned into a white hardshell with brown dots splattered around its sphere. The spell was successful, which just as they finished, Aviana had returned.

Oh no… Did she find the ring?

“Bad news, ladies.” Aviana had spoken once returning, an annoyed sigh coming from her as she said so, “The door to her suite is locked. There’s an enchanted spell on it that not even our dark magic will work on it.” 

The second Natalya had heard this, she had clutched onto her chest in almost what felt like a relief. She had locked the door before leaving to go find a pair of scissors, which meant if she had kept it unlocked… They would’ve gotten the ring. Damn, it was a really close one.

“An enchanted door, huh?” Gelinda spoke with a bit of thought to her voice before closing the casing with the eggs and placing them back into the closet so it seemed like no one was there, “Whatever. Let’s worry about this task first for the headmistress, and while those fairies are projectile vomiting, they’ll all go running back to their rooms. Doors will unlock, and that’ll be our chance to get the ring.”

As Gelinda had said this, she had held out her hand to soon form what looked like a portal. It seemed to be that they were done with their little mission on sabotaging the gifts, but something didn’t sit well in the pit of Natalya’s stomach seeing Aviana and Nebula agree to Gelinda’s words before stepping into the portal. Within seconds, they vanished, resulting in Natalya to pop out of her corner.

She had to go tell someone about the eggs… But, that meant the banquet was going on right now.

And she had nothing to wear. Her dress wasn’t finished, she hadn’t even started her make-up… But, those were stupid things to worry about. She didn’t want to live with that guilt of knowing those eggs were cursed by not saying anything at all. 

Natalya quickly sprinted down the hallway of the first floor. She knew where the dining hall was, which was conveniently just going outside and walking to the next building next door. From what she observed, it looked like everyone had been seated in their places while waiting for the dinner to be served. 

…It was probably a bad time too to note that she was hungry from all that rushing around.

She walked up to the entrance and presented her student ID to the guards from UHB who seemed to be on watch for the ball, which immediately they let her in. The second she walked in, she kept her profile low; not wanting to stand out because well, when she walked in… The banquet was extravagant. 

Everyone had been wearing beautiful gowns to very nice looking suits. And there she was in clothing that screamed she was that normal girl from Earth, but she didn’t give two fucks about it at that moment. 

“Where are they, where are they…” Natalya dipped her head low while walking through the crowds of people; clearly trying to look for her friends. 

They would know the right spell to fix all this mess with the gifts. As she walked, she made sure to keep eye on where she was walking, but that didn’t mean on occasion she bumped into one or two people on occasion. However, when she did spot their table thanks to Florentyna’s loud talking, she had stood herself up from her crouched position…

…Only to immediately bump her head into the back of someone.

“Shit, I’m so sorry-“ Natalya began, standing up to apologize until her eyes widened realizing exactly who it was.

All it took was for the individual to turn around for her to recognize the face that belonged to Alfred. He had been wearing a casual version of a tux, she’d like to describe it. He had been wearing a white collared, long-sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up a black tie, black dress pants, and a black slim vest. Was he wearing lifts?… Because she swore the last time she didn’t remember him being this tall.

From Alfred’s point of view, he was about to be the one to apologize until he had recognized the blonde hair to the girl that well, he was talking to. But, she didn’t… Look ready for a ball at all. If anything, she looked like she was ready to go out to hang out with friends, not for anything formal, “Oh, hey Nat! I was actually looking for you,” He began with a smile, clearly happy to see her.

“…You were?” Natalya stood up, clearly still in shock that she had run into him. Of all people, the last thing she ever expected was to be him, “Oh— Yeah! I mean, I was looking for you too, but I’m kind of still getting ready because I uh, needed to finish a homework assignment. But the thing is I _really_ need to go talk to Tatyana about an important part, but I should be back by the time the ball starts, I promise-“ 

_Wow… Did she always have to look so cute rambling and trying to make excuses for herself?_ Alfred had thought this to himself before smiling. Really, he didn’t mind at all. It looked like she was doing something important that she needed to get to, “You’re good hun. Go what you need to do, but I call dips being on your first dance.” 

“Deal.” As Natalya heard this, another wave of relief practically filled through her body as she reached over to cup Alfred’s cheek; caressing it for a moment before whispering, “Thank you,” She pulled back, now rushing past him to go straight to the table where the rest of her friends were at. Alfred of course, stood there, shocked… But more or less, felt very warm and good about himself as he went to go check out what was being served for supper.

“ _There you are, Natalya!”_ Florentyna had called out from the table, now motioning over to an empty seat beside her. It looked like from Natalya’s point of view that everyone had begun to eat dinner, which at that point, she went straight for the bread to grab a piece because she didn’t know when she’d be able to eat dinner. Regardless, that didn’t stop Florentyna from questioning, “Uhm… What the hell are you wearing?”

“Yeah, Natalya,” Mei spoke up now as she tilted her head. She had been wearing a traditional red qipao while her hair had been pulled back into a bun; pink flowers decorated along with the bun, “I thought you said you were getting ready?”

“Yes, I was.” Natalya began as she took bites out of the bread, quickly swallowing it so she could at least take care of the empty stomach problem, “But there’s an emergency. I need your guys’ help. Right now.” 

The second they had all heard about her needing help with something, it wasn’t long until the group of four fairies had stood up from their seats. As Natalya guided them towards the exit of the dining hall, they indeed did get a few stairs since it was suspicious that a whole table of fairies was leaving… But for now, they played it off as ‘going to the bathroom to freshen up before the ball’.

Once they were in a secure, private area outside of the dining hall was when Natalya began to explain what she had seen, “Okay, so, I was looking for a pair of scissors because I was still working on my dress. But as I was searching, I found out that Gelinda, Nebula, and Aviana broke in while everyone was here eating dinner. I followed them, they put some sort of spell on the gifts that the guys from UHB brought… And well, they said something about stealing Florentyna’s ring, but I had no idea when or how because they disappeared before I could hear anything else.”

“Those witches? Yeesh, I still don’t understand why they want my family ring,” Florentyna couldn’t help but scoff in annoyance before raising a brow, “It’s impossible to get my ring. The door is locked, so even if they were to break in, the enchanted door would stop them. So I wouldn’t worry about that Natty,”

“Though the presents,” Monika began and looked over at Natalya, “What did they do to them?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Natalya began while crossing her arms under her chest, “They cast some sort of spell about projectile vomiting with snake rats.”

“Snake rats…” As Monika heard this, she had pulled out her phone from the bra she had been wearing underneath her gown and tapped a few buttons. Within seconds, she held the phone out to the group to reveal an image of what looked like a horrifying creature, “Yep, that’s a snake rat. Apparently…” She looked down at the phone to read the details, “If someone is bitten by it, it can induce fainting or even vomiting of blood. All it takes is one bite.”

“…that’s horrendous!” Tatyana had gasped as she brought a hand to her mouth, clearly shocked to hear what Monika was explaining, “What can we do?”

“I think we should all go back to the room and get your ring, Florentyna,” Mei spoke up in thought, “If we get the ring, they won’t plan on breaking into the ball.”

“The issue with that though is one, we have no idea where they are, and two…” Monika interrupted before motioning over to the window of the dining hall. From there, the group could see what looked like to be a treasure chest being pulled into the banquet, “…We’re too late.”

“Shit!” Florentyna stomped her foot onto the ground seeing that the guys from UHB who had brought out the case seemed to look for the key to unlock the chest, “We need a counterspell, and fast!”

“Quick, everyone each other’s hands,” Monika had held her hands out, which immediately, the group had nodded and taken one another’s hands. As she stood there, Monika took in a breath and closed her eyes, “I learned this trick in my class. Every spell has a counterspell, now follow my lead and reach down into your heart to connect your charmix.”

As she said this, each girl one by one had closed their eyes. Even Natalya, who still struggled with her powers, closed her eyes as well and calmed herself so she could focus on helping on the spell. And so, Monika had spoken aloud with the group following;

“ _Let all the dark magic be reversed. Make the eggs like they were before they were cursed!”_

A bright glow formed around each girl as they stood there in the circle. Within seconds of saying this enchantment, a bright orb formed in their circle which had gone flying off in the direction of the treasure chest of the eggs. 

As the men were in the middle of opening the chest, a bright glow had come from it which indeed startled them at first… But they had imagined it was mostly because the gifts were locked in a closet for an entire week. And so, the eggs were soon handed out, which gave a chance for the girls outside to see if everything was alright.

So far so good, Natalya could see as she had her face pressed up to the glass of the window of the dining room. The egg wasn’t white anymore - it had gone back to its beautiful gold color. As she and the rest of the girls had their faces pressed up the glass, they watched as one by one each egg was handed to every fairy guest in the banquet. 

The students of fairies seemed to be hesitant at first with the eggs, though once the first few began to open it up and beautiful butterflies had broken from the eggs - what sounded like ‘awws’ and laughter could be heard from inside the dining hall.

“Thank goodness…” Florentyna couldn’t help but sigh in relief as she looked over at the rest of the group; wiping her forehead, “Gosh, doing spells are so exhausting.”

“You and me both,” Mei agreed as she stepped down from the spot where she had been looking through the window, “I think it should be all good now. The witches probably are gone now that they figured out they can’t get the ring.” 

When Mei had said this, everyone had nodded in agreement. That was a fair point since, after all, Natalya did see the witches vanish after they had put the spell on the eggs. Yet, something deep in her chest… She couldn’t tell what it was, was trying to convince her to keep her eyes out for anything.

“Alright then,” Tatyana cleared her throat and reached over to place a hand on Natalya’s shoulder, which startled her at first before Natalya realized it was just her, “Hey, you should go put your dress on. Alfred’s been waiting for you this entire dinner, right?”

…That’s right! The second Tatyana had reminded her of this, Natalya nodded and took in a breath, “Right. I’ll be down here when the ball starts. Go finish dinner and if you guys can make me a plate to eat later tonight, I’d really appreciate it,”

“We got you girly!” Florentyna reached over, slapping her hand right against Natalya’s rear which got her to jump at first, “Now go! Get out of here, go get ready, sexy!”

That was enough for Natalya to indeed get a jump start in running back to the dormitories while the rest of her friends had gone back to the dining hall so they could resume eating. Of course, when returning to the suite, she had opened the door and walked in with excitement built up inside her. Sure, there was something that felt wrong, but she was mainly happy at the fact that she had managed to do her first-ever spell!

“I can’t believe I did that…” Natalya began, now looking down at the dress that she had laid out on her bed. It was already pinned and just needed to be run through the sewing machine, but she still didn’t have those damn scissors, “…Eh, I’ll just use a knife.” 

What else did she have to lose? There was nothing else she could use to cut off the access fabric. Natalya had reached underneath her bed and pulled out what looked like to be a collection of knives. Was it allowed in the school? Probably not, but she always carried a pocket knife or at least dagger on her just in case of self-defense. Well, it looks like she’d be using it to cut fabric than self-defense.

Though, just outside of the dining hall where the banquet had been taking place, the three witches had actually not gone anywhere at all as the group of fairies had thought. If anything, they had seemed to be watching what was going on in the dining hall to see if their little plan had worked on sabotaging the ball…

…but when they had heard laughter coming out of the dining hall than screams, Gelinda felt her eyes widen as the bushes they were hiding behind immediately froze on the spot.

“SOMEONE USED A COUNTER SPELL!?”Gelinda had practically shouted in anger as her face burned red, clearly furious, “UNBELIEVABLE! How dare — who, who even found out we cast the spell in the FIRST PLACE!?”

“We should go get them,” Nebula looked right at the dining hall; her eyes witching of anger as the wind surrounding the witches began to pick up from her power, “We could—“

“—No,” Gelinda looked over at Nebula and shushed her, “We can’t get angry… This fucking sucks, yes, but we can still go get the ring, and once we do, we’ll become the most powerful beings in the entire magic dimension. Something tells me someone opened up the door to Florentyna’s suite…”

As Gelinda had said this, she had held out her hands towards the first-year dormitories. The two other witches had noticed what she was doing, which it seemed she was about to conduct a spell. And so, they each had pointed in the direction of the dorm; focusing their power towards Gelinda’s.

“ _Power from the darkest of all witches, bring us the Ring of Solis.”_

The spell being cast had resulted in a burst of magic to come from the witches to go straight to the window of Florentyna’s room. It had gone straight through the glass, going right towards the treasure chest underneath her bed. All it took was for the magic that was sent to form around the treasure chest, lift it up, and begin carrying out of the room. 

Meanwhile, in the midst of this taking place, Natalya had already finished up cutting off the access fabric of the dress. She looked at the dress, indeed proud of what she was able to use to at least fix it a bit, “Now for these damn sleeves and I should be all set—“

— _Natalya, your friend’s ring is in danger. Turn around, quick._

A voice had immediately come to her mind when she heard the sudden voice that filled her head… There it was again. A voice that didn’t sound like hers as she tried shaking it off, unsure of what it meant. But of course, Natalya had turned around, which when she had noticed what was going on, the knife in her hands had dropped straight to the ground.

It was Florentyna’s jewelry box - what, how was it floating!? That didn’t seem right to her at all, but the first thing she could think of then and there was… Well, leaving her dress by herself as she chased after it. 

The treasure chest seemed to have been going to the first floor of the dormitory, which wasn’t fun at all for Natalya at all as she sprinted down the stairs; keeping her eyes on it to make sure she didn’t lose sight of it. Her first thought was that the witches were doing this, but how could they be doing this if they had already left? 

Either way, that treasure chest was going immediately outside - to the back of the dining hall, which was surprising to her. Natalya continued to sprint after it, clearly unsure of what to do at the moment other than try to stop it. She couldn’t call Florentyna; her phone was in her room! Plus, if she had known that the ring was stolen and Natalya didn’t do anything? She was sure Florentyna would be disappointed in her.

“Damn it…” Natalya cursed under her breath as she ran.

How long was this treasure chest going for? She had no idea, but one thing that did catch her attention was when the treasure chest had opened and out popped the case that had the ring. So it was definitely for the ring. The voice in her head was right… Florentyna’s ring was in danger.

Alas, as Natalya was in the middle of running, the three witches who had been hiding in the bushes immediately recognized her from the small distance away from her. Gelinda mainly, found her face go even more red seeing that someone was chasing after it. It didn’t help too that Natalya did eventually managed to catch up to it; tackling the case to the ground with her hands as she held onto it tightly.

“Got it you little fucker,” She panted; trying to catch her breath as she sat there on the ground. Just opening the container quickly, she saw that the ring was still there… Good, it was safe.

Anger began to build up in all three witches seeing Natalya now get up after closing the case and… Pretending as nothing had just happened!? 

“I am so fucking _SICK_ of this Earth girl!” Gelinda had shouted out loud, which immediately had caught Natalya’s attention when she was walking. She had turned around now to the source of where she heard the voice, immediately noticing the pair of eyes glaring right at her from the bushes as a blast of magic had come out of it. Natalya had held her arms up, shielding herself from it before she opened her eyes to be revealed to the sight of the three witches, “FIRST you think you can fight us, NOW you think you can take the ring that belongs to us!? I don’t think so! I said I wouldn’t go far with you Natalya,” She pointed right at her, “But now I’m REALLY going to kill you.”

“First we’re going to rip your hands off for touching the ring…” Nebula had first spoken out while the three witches began to take steps towards the girl.

“Then we’re going to go into your mind and make your brain explode,” Aviana had followed; her hands sparking with magic while glaring at the blonde, “So you end up brain dead on the side of the campus and all your little friends will have to start their first year knowing their friend is dead.” 

The second Natalya had heard this, her eyes had widened as she slowly began to back away from the witches. Part of her wanted to laugh, especially since she knew it’d piss them off… But then, she did something worse, “Wow, that’s all you have to say to me?” Natalya began, holding out her hands innocently, “Your insults don’t phase me. I’ve heard worse, and I thought witches were supposed to be worse than the average human being. Guess not.”

That seemed to be the icing on the cake for all three of them. Which for Natalya, she had been just about to run all until Aviana had let out what sounded like an angered scream and slammed her foot directly into the ground. This one-foot slam had been enough to crack open the ground, resulting in Natalya to trip as she was in the middle of running and drop the ring.

“Shit-!” Natalya cursed under her breath, attempting to stand up to go reach for the ring, Gelinda had already been on it as she held out her hands and used the same spell as before to bring the ring right at her direction. 

Once the ring was in her grasp, she slipped it away into her pocket and had cracked her knuckles, motioning over to Nebula, “Go ahead and have your fun.”

“With pleasure!” Loud laughter could be heard from Nebula when given the green light to make her attack. Her hands had been held up into the air, where what looked like a tornado similar to the one at Magix Natalya had to face appeared. This tornado had slammed right down on Natalya, resulting in the girl flying off into one of the cracks that were made into the ground.

This wasn’t good at all.

Fortunately, before she had fallen through the crack, Natalya had caught herself at one of the edges of the ground to hold herself up. If there was one thing she was thankful for figure skating for so many years, it was the fact that it required a lot of physical training!

“There is no escaping from us this time, Natalya.” Gelinda had approached where Natalya’s hands were; pressing her foot down right against the knuckles of it. As the girl felt this pressure, she had let out a cry; trying to hold herself back from making any noises because fuck, it really hurt, “You are just a pathetic Earth girl. How did you even get into Lenfia anyway? You don’t have any charmix or powers that I see.”

Despite being in pain from her fingers, Natalya wouldn’t let this woman talk her now. No way, “…Shut up!” She had cursed out from her position, which only resulted in Gelinda to step harder on her fingers, “I do have powers, you just haven’t seen them yet!”

“Nope.” Gelinda had pulled her foot back now and held her hands up into the air. She planned on freezing this girl right on the spot. With her friends not around? She couldn’t escape at all. A dark orb had formed in the palm of her hands, which she had held out towards Natalya’s direction, “I don’t think so. Go back to your little Earth planet you little rat.”

Hearing these words… This was something that brought anger right to Natalya. It wasn’t at the insults, but the fact that this witch was trying to prove that she wasn’t any magical being at all. No, it didn’t make sense to her at all. All of her life, she has had this amazing fascination with fairies and all things magic. At almost eighteen, she considered it to be a little personal interest of hers…

…But since that day of meeting Florentyna, she knew that discovering her powers was the key to figuring out who she was. And it all made sense… Why she was so fascinated by magic, why she wanted to learn more about it, and being with her friends at Lenfia motivated her to train herself into becoming a fairy that her child self dreamed to be.

“ _You’re wrong…”_

The tone of voice that had come from Natalya was much different compared to before, which had caught Gelinda off guard since… It sounded actually scary. And witches don’t ever get scared of anything, which only made the anger in her fuel up as she held the orb right at Natalya’s direction.

However, just as she was about to throw the orb, something had stopped her.

A bright, burst of magic had filled the area that it had thrown all three witches straight into the bushes they were hiding in. They all had screamed being thrown from the impact, but what they hadn’t been expecting to see, shocked them more.

It was - Natalya! She… She wasn’t on the edge of the ground anymore. She was standing there; her eyes glowing of power as she glared right in their direction. Surrounding her, soon looked to be flames in the shades of an icy blue and firey red. The expression on her face showed she was just as angry from being talked down, but soon, those flames that had surrounded her in a circle went straight towards her body.

Standing there, Natalya had no idea what was going on. It was as if this energy had built up inside her out of pure hatred towards the witches. All of her life, she’s been talked down to by so many of her peers and people she had met, she wasn’t going to let these witches try to convince her something that she wasn’t. 

_You are a fairy. A powerful fairy._

As energy formed around her body, she closed her eyes and took in a breath. It all felt familiar to her… Familiar to the point where that voice came back to her head and was trying to tell her something.

_You know what to say, my darling._

_“…Charmix!”_

All it took for her was to open her eyes were she took a step forward. As she stepped forward, her entire appearance had transformed entirely. From the regular causal clothing she had been once wearing, a light formed around her body until what looked like an entirely new outfit had appeared. A skirt firstly around her hips with a small slit, followed by a bodice on her bust in a light blue, sparkling color of fabric had taken shape. In addition, a pair of ankle-length boots in the same color as the fabric had formed on her feet, as well as for fingerless gloves to form up to her forearm in a lighter shade of blue. On her chest, where the necklace she had worn once was had turned into a beautiful, gold gem. Her hair was curled at its ends while on the top of her head, she had a tiara made out of diamonds that sparkled in gold flakes down her hair. Then, behind her back had formed a pair of wings in the shape similarly to any butterfly. 

By the time she opened her eyes, the wind had been thrashing violently all around her as sparks of magic came from her. Pink glitter had formed around her eyelids in addition to her having a glossy lip before soon she had held her hands out instinctively to the witches as she spoke in a loud, clear voice,

“ _…If you want to kill me, come and try to do it.”_ Natalya spoke in a deep, strict and serious tone, “Now give me back my friend’s fucking ring.”

This came as an absolute shock to all of the witches. Not at the fact that the Earth girl managed to prove them wrong, but it was at the fact that this transformation was completely unusual compared to any other fairy transforming. The way Natalya looked at them now was horrific as if they had just messed with the wrong person, in all truths.

Gelinda though, happily took this as a challenge as she flew up into the air. The wand that was at her hip was grabbed onto as she pointed it at the fairy, which she shouted, “Fine! We’ll go the hard way, then,” As she said this, a spark had formed from the wand before she had pointed it right at Natalya, “ _Arctic blast!”_

Seeing the attack being right in her direction, it was almost instinctively that Natalya knew what to do. Energy practically coursed through her veins that when the attack was coming right at her direction, she panicked at first on what to do until—

_You can do it._

That one motivating voice in her head had Natalya hold her hands up right away seeing the bolt of magic coming right in her direction. As she did so, a barrier formed around her which had bounced the magic right off of her and directly towards Gelinda, which had hit right at her chest and had her flying off to the ground.

Natalya looked down at her hands when she had used her magic… She… She was able to do it! All she had to do was think hard and the spell just happened all of the sudden! That didn’t mean the fight was over though as Aviana had flown right at her direction; her eyes glowing of darkness as she pressed her fingers up to her forehead, “If direct attacks won’t work, let’s see if an illusion will stop you,” 

An illusion? This caught Natalya off guard. Just as she was about to go in for her second attack to defend herself… Well, everything became blurry. The entire environment that she was in was… Wavy, purple… Deformed… What the hell was going on? 

This had Natalya stumbling back now as she looked around, panicked, “What… What’s going on…” She took in a breath. No, she couldn’t panic now. She was so close and got one of those witches down just using self-defense and getting Gelinda to use her magic on herself. 

Though as she was in the middle of panicking, Aviana had looked over at Nebula and spoke, “Let’s get out of here before she figures it out,” She began, which Nebula had immediately nodded in agreement to before rushing towards the forest to grab Gelinda, who had taken a huge hit from her own magic bouncing right back to her. All it took was for Aviana to take out her wand, wave it into the air once and soon, the three witches were gone…

…With the said ring. 

Natalya however, had no idea this had happened as she looked around, trying to figure out how exactly to break out of this sort of spell. But then, the gears in her brain had worked as she had remembered about something she had learned in one of her classes about illusion spells.

Illusion spells only lasted for certain distances when it comes to width and length… Which meant… The illusion was only cast at her, and only her. The reason why it felt much bigger was because of it being only around her. 

Natalya took this as her chance to jump into the air with her wings; flying right out of the illusion spell. As expected, she was right! At least, her professor was right when it came to these spells. The spell had only been cast in a box around her, that she was able to escape it by just simply flying out of it. 

Though as she turned to look down to see if the witches were there… They were… Gone.

Gone.

With the ring.

As she stood there midair, her eyes had widened and jaw had dropped. No… No, no! “Damn it!” She began, lowering herself down to the ground as she stared at where the witches were once standing. She spent too long in that illusion and couldn’t figure it out quicker, which gave them a chance to escape with the ring! 

One thing that didn’t escape the fact though was that while she had been standing there, frustrated beyond her mind, was that the banquet had come to an end and everyone had seemed to be walking out of the dining hall to transition to the auditorium. That wasn’t a good thing at all, seeing that the second there were frozen bushes and cracks on the ground… All lining up to Natalya, who stood there in a full-blown fairy form…

…That wasn’t good at all.

It was enough though to catch Florentyna’s attention, who had been walking out of the dining hall before feeling her jaw drop seeing Natalya standing there. Not only in an entirely new outfit… But a pair of wings right on her back!

“OH MY GOSH, NATALYA!” Florentyna had practically dropped the conversation she was having with Tatyana and sprinted right over. Natalya felt herself flinch hearing this, but within seconds of turning around to meet the other, she was tackled into a tight hug, “You— You figured out your charmix! You did it!… Wait.” She paused, “How did you figure that out? I thought you were getting changed.”

“That’s a good question right there,” Monika began, resulting in Natalya to look up to see that her friends had already begun approaching her to see if she was alright. It seemed that the stares began to die down the second the group of fairies approached her, now blocking everyone’s view from seeing the new appearance that came with Natalya, “You okay?”

The second Natalya had heard this, she looked down at herself and realized that Florentyna was indeed correct. She wasn’t in the same ordinary outfit that she was in before… She was in a completely different form that she never imagined happening to her. A beautiful outfit, a tiara on her curled hair, the fingerless arm-lengthen gloves on her arms, a beautiful gold broach in the shape of a gem on her chest… And then there were the wings on her back to sing it off.

A bright glow soon formed around Natalya, which resulted in the fairy form that she was once in to turn back into the ordinary clothing she was wearing, “I… It just, happened,” She explained as she looked at her friends, though soon, looked at Florentyna frowning, “…they got your ring, Florentyna…”

“…Huh?”

“Your ring,” Natalya repeated herself and brought her hands up to her face, clearly ashamed that she couldn’t stop them, “They managed to steal it. I tried stopping them, but they got away before I could.”

Silence came from the group when they heard this… That didn’t sound good at all. Especially for someone like Florentyna? It wasn’t good at all. But rather than get angry or upset, Florentyna simply smiled and placed a hand on Natalya’s head, which caught her off guard, “So?” She began, which was shocking to the group, “Okay, they stole my ring. But at least you saw who did it. Plus, we can steal it back too. Don’t worry about it girly,”

That was not the response Natalya wasn’t expecting to hear at all from Florentyna. Even when she lowered her hands on her face to reveal this shock, it was clear, “But, isn’t that ring important to your family?”  
  
“Well, duhhh,” Florentyna smiled and took Natalya’s hand, now beginning to lead her towards the dormitory since she seemed to still be in shock, “But it makes it a good excuse for us to now go on a little mission and get it. No big deal! Plus, I don’t think they realize that my scepter only works on sun magic and not on dark magic.”

“…So you’re saying that nothing will happen to it?” Tatyana began as she ran up towards Natalya and Florentyna, following just behind them.

“Yup!” Florentyna nodded in clarification, “I don’t know why they’re so eager for it though. Maybe they wanna fuck each other with it, I dunno.”

Chuckles could be heard amongst the group when hearing this, which indeed made Natalya feel a bit better knowing that Florentyna wasn’t upset. Oh no, that wasn’t the case at all.

“Nooowwww, I thought I told you to go get that dress of yours on,” Florentyna grinned before she looked over at Mei, Monika, and Tatyana, “Mind if I dip for twenty minutes to make sure Nat is ready for her date?”  
  
“I’m coming too!” Tatyana began, insisting that she come as she slipped an arm through Natalya’s, “I love working with make-up and hair. We’ll be down when the ball starts.”

This had Monika and Mei exchange brief looks at each other, since well, that came out of nowhere. But rather than question it, the two nodded as Monika waved off and turned around, “Alright, we’ll see you down here… Maybe I can see if my brother has a beer I can steal.”

Mei shot a glare right at Monika when she heard this, following her towards the doors of the auditorium, “Your brother has beer?” 

“Probably,” Monika chuckled, “Guys from UHB have the weirdest things on hand anytime.”

Leaving Monika and Mei to scope out the ball before it began left Tatyana and Florentyna to have Natalya all for themselves to help her prepare for this ball, After all, they ate dinner with Alfred and Gilbert and knew exactly how long Alfred had been waiting to see Natalya! There was no more time to be wasted. 

The second the girls had arrived at the suite was where the real work began. Firstly, Florentyna had hopped straight to her sewing machine to finish off the work that Natalya had started. Already the dress was fixed to the appropriate length, but then there were the sleeves that were just a problem… And so, with fiddling around with it, Florentyna had managed to remove the sleeves and made the dress shoulder less. 

During this time, Tatyana had assisted Natalya with getting ready with make-up and hair. Firstly, forcing her to shower because the poor girl was running around all day, finding a dress, fighting witches - she was going through a lot. But once Natalya was finished, Tatyana had been the one to sit her down and blow-dry her hair, curl it, and soon pin it back halfway with pins before snapping her fingers to where a white rose had appeared on the back of her hair. With some adjustments, such as spraying the curls she had made with hairspray and making sure Natalya’s bangs stayed in place on her forehead, next came the make-up.

The make-up was a game that Tatyana had to go back and forth on what she wanted to do. But when seeing Florentyna pull out the finished dress, she knew exactly what she wanted to do, “I’m going to focus more on your natural beauty, Natalya,” She began as she picked up a light-pink eyeshadow and began placing it on the girl’s eyelid, “I’ll say this out loud too, you’re naturally very beautiful, so I don’t think you need make-up. But because this is a ball, I think you should at least wear a little to emphasize and show off your features.”

“I agree!” Florentyna had spoken from the counter of the bathroom as she seemed to have been putting on make-up herself; making fixing it after eating supper earlier, “Listen, if you weren’t talking to Alfred, I probably would’ve asked you out by now!” She teased, resulting in Natalya and Tatyana to chuckle.

“…Thanks, guys,” Natalya sighed for a moment as she looked at herself in the mirror; allowing for Tatyana to continue doing her make-up, “It’s nice being complimented rather than insulted by witches.”

“Oh honey, don’t let them bother you,” Tatyana shook her head as she reached for her make-up, pulling out a light lip-gloss to go with the look she was doing for Natalya, “Witches hate fairies. They’ll insult you when reality is they should consider getting themselves some done on their disgusting personalities.”

Florentyna nodded hearing his statement in agreement while finishing off her make-up with a red-lipstick; quickly blotting it so it wouldn’t get on her tea, “Tatyana’s right for sure. I’ve been insulted so many times by witches that at this point, I think they have insecurities that they just take it out on pretty fairies like us.”

Sitting there in that bathroom, Natalya had to admit it was truly nice after a lot day stressing about this one ball, in addition to staying on top of her classwork. But, it all seemed to work out in the end… The positive energy that filled the room reminded her that one, she was going to have a good time tonight… Two, she managed to unlock her fairy transformation and grow wings… And three, well, she was about to go on a date with a guy that truly made her happy. 

The overall process of getting her ready for his ball had taken a good half-an-hour, but they managed to do it and finish two minutes before the ball was about to start. Mei and Monika already had been waiting for the group of girls to return, to which they did with a finally ready Natalya, they were stunned. 

“Wow Natalya,” Monika stared at the other in shock as she chuckled, crossing her arms under her chest as the three fairies walked into the auditorium where music was just about to begin, “I didn’t recognize you for a second.”

“Har har har, very funny.” Natalya rolled her eyes playfully, feeling a small smile come to her lips as she looked down at herself. She wasn’t used to being so dressed up like this, but one thing she was glad about was that at the end of the day, the dress turned out okay, “Do you think this dress stands out a bit?”

“Not at all!” Florentyna gasped as she placed her arm on the girl’s shoulder, “I’ll take that as a compliment seeing that I was the one who fixed the sleeves for you.”

“ _Oh, it definitely stands out alright.”_

The sudden male voice managed to capture the group’s attention from their little corner. Upon looking over, Natalya felt her heart practically sink to the bottom of her chest the second she had seen Alfred. He had a smile on his face before he leaned over innocently.

“So, I kind of called dips on having Natalya before any of you,” Alfred began, clearly teasing the group as Natalya rose a brow with a bit of amusement, “I’m here to just do that.”

“Well excuseeee me, Mr. Alfred Jones,” Florentyna had stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Natalya, followed by proceeding to glare right at the other with a smirk of her own, “Just because you called dips doesn’t mean that there aren’t any rules.” 

“…Rules?” Alfred spoke, clearly confused. 

“Yep.” As Florentyna had said this, she had snapped her fingers to where what looked like a sheet of paper had formed in her hands. She cleared her throat, looking right at the document with handwriting on it, “I expect my daughter to be back before midnight, no drinking, you pay for everything, andddd no hand-holding because that’s a sin before marriage,”

Hearing these rules had Natalya raise a brow when she heard this. She knew Florentyna was just joking, so she, of course, played along with the joke by tapping her finger on top of the paper, “You pulled these rules out of your ass two seconds ago, didn’t you?”

“Nope.” Florentyna smirked, “I wrote them at dinner.”

“Ohh, at dinner. I see... I see.” Natalya looked over at Alfred and shrugged, who seemed to be chuckling hearing these sudden rules. 

Yet, there was a reason why Natalya had poked the paper, because within seconds of pulling her hand away - the paper had vanished. Completely burned right out of Florentyna’s hands as she gasped in shock. The group of fairies was also surprised to see this since they didn’t even know Natalya could do that. 

“Well, it looks like there are no rules to follow,” Natalya smirked now, pulling her hand back before patting the other’s cheek while on Florentyna’s face, her jaw was dropped. Dropped wide open being too speechless to say anything. 

Of course, now that there weren’t any ‘rules’, Natalya had broken the very first one right then and there by indeed taking Alfred’s hand into her own. She looked over at Florentyna and playfully stuck her tongue out at her, before turning her head to her friends, “Save a dance with you guys tonight too.”

“We will,” Monika began while Tatyana had been in the middle of poking Florentyna’s cheek, trying to see if there was any life out of her, “Now get outta here you two.”

The second they were told to leave, of course, both Alfred and Natalya had looked at each other trying to hold their laughter back before walking off. To say the least, taking a small break from her friends that evening to talk be with Alfred was one thing she didn’t expect… But hey, it was funny at the end of the day.

“Your friends always like that?” Eventually, Alfred had spoken as he seemed to be leading her more towards the exit of the auditorium. There was a reason for this, because well, he wanted to be alone with her for a moment.

“Sometimes,” Natalya responded with a small shrug. She had no idea where they were going, other than the fact that well, he seemed to be leading her somewhere in particular, “But I don’t mind it. It makes it easier for me to pull stunts like that and get funny reactions.”

Alfred chuckled hearing this, “So, you’re just as savage as a terrible person you think you are?”

“Yep.” 

“Do you always think you’re terrible?”

A long pause came from Natalya when she heard this. As they walked, this got her thinking… Was she really a terrible person as she liked to think she was? Already, she’s told Alfred on the phone how she’s gotten into fights with people. Not purposely, but mostly out of self-defense. And it wasn’t her even initiating the attacks in the first place. 

Where Alfred had been leading her to though had been the fountain just outside of the auditorium. There, it was much more private, which could be both of them. That way they could talk without hearing the loud music coming from the actual ball. While he waited for her answer, one hand had gone into his pocket.

“…Sometimes again.” Natalya admitted as she looked over at the other; her back facing the fountain now as Alfred was in front of her, “But, I’ve come to learn that it’s not bad to be… bad. But I guess after today, I’ve realized that while I love positive magic and being a fairy, you need that badness in order to balance it out… Or else you’ll just be straight-up annoying.”

Another chuckle came from Alfred when he heard this. Damn, if there was one thing about Natalya, she sure did have a lot of morals. It was why that as he reached into his pocket, he pulled out an item, “Welp, if you’re ‘oh so terrible, look at me, I’m a mean fairy’ type of person Natalya, then that’s gonna be a problem on my end.” 

Natalya tilted her head now in confusion. What was that supposed to mean? 

Despite having this question, she watched as he held out the item in her hand. It was… An egg? No, she knew what it was. It was the egg that was given to fairies by the students of UHB. Did he manage to save her one to give to her now in private?  


“You got me an egg.” Natalya began.

“It’s a special egg.”

“It’s an egg, Alfred.”

“Yes, but it’s a special egg,” He began, taking her hands to place the item in the palm of her hands, “A special egg that… that’s even better than the ones you see from the Easter bunny.”

“Are you implying that it came out of a bunny’s ass, Alfred?”

“Just open the egg, Natty. Pleaseeeeee….” 

The longer they were to stand there and bicker, the more she was just going to clap back at him with more questions. That was why he loved her. Natalya was such a strange girl that he’s never met before… All the women he’s met were magical beings, but while Natalya was a magical being - she was different. She grew up in a whole other world compared to him, had different experiences, and she knew how to make sarcasm great with being funny.

…Which was why when she had opened the egg, just as expected, butterflies had flown right out of it. This was what Natalya expected to see, yet as she examined further, there was a note on the bottom of the egg. 

She rose a brow now in confusion. What was he exactly doing?… Either way, the longer she looked at the note, the more she could just feel the pressure coming from Alfred. She reached into it now and noticed it was folded up. And so, with swift movements, she had opened up the note to see what was written on it in his handwriting:

‘ _Will you go out with me?’_

As she said this note, she stared for it a long time. After the chaos that came from the entire night… Now _that_ was the last thing Natalya ever expected to see from Alfred. She looked up at him, and from what she had been observing, it seemed like he had been standing there patiently waiting for her answer. 

This didn’t neglect the fact that Alfred could feel his heart beginning to beat out of his chest the second she had read the note. She was going to call it cheesy, wasn’t it? She always called him out on cheesy shit that he did for her, like getting her the flowers or sending her love notes whenever he can… But now that he was asking such an innocent question through an egg - he was just waiting for it?

What came from her though was what he didn’t expect, just as she didn’t expect with the note.

The egg was placed down onto the edge of the fountain before Natalya had taken a step forward now. Was she really going to do this? Probably, but if something went wrong… Well, at least she could see if her theory was right about him.

She slowly stood on her toes and leaned herself towards him. As she did so, Alfred immediately realized what she was doing that by the time had had a chance to react…

…She had kissed him.

Right then and there, he was speechless. Absolutely speechless as her soft, pink lips were pressed against his. It was as if a wave of happiness had just slapped him right across the face and kicked him into another dimension. He didn’t push her away at all. It was quite opposite, actually.

His arms had slowly reached down to her waist where his hands had rested right on top of her hips. Natalya noticed this, but she didn’t do anything herself other than allow for her arms to wrap around his shoulders to pull him more into the said kiss.

It was deep… Slow… Showed that sense of love and connection with one another that Natalya could just feel her cheeks turning a bright pink while Alfred held her in his arms. His lips were a bit rough, but still soft enough for her to lean forward even more and deepen the exchange that they had with one another.

Pulling back, she probably had the biggest blush on her cheeks that she’s ever had in a long time. Even Alfred, who seemed to be a flustered mess as he looked down at the girl, trying to figure out what to say before taking in a breath and reaching over to cup her cheek. As he did so, he caressed the skin; looking intimately into her violet-blue eyes with his bright blue ones.  


“…is that a yes, Natalya?” He whispered lowly, now leaning himself forward to rest his forehead against her small one. To even emphasize his point, he pressed a small kiss against her ear while patiently waiting. He would wait a thousand years if he had to in order to get that yes.

‘Is that a yes’… See, this was the route where she could call him cheesy. Natalya had figured that at that point he probably considered the entire thing cheesy, but no, it wasn’t cheesy at all. If anything, if he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend, she was glad he did it that way rather than beg her like most boys she knows would’ve.

And that was what made it special to her,

Her lips once more pressed against his in one more exchange before she pulled back, looking up at the other. Their lips were still dangerously centimeters apart from one another, but then and there, she had made her decision.

“ _…Yes. I’ll be your girlfriend._ ” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I managed to pull a chapter out a few days early! I'm a bit surprised at myself, but I guess you can say I've been having a lot of fun writing it that I want to continue onwards!
> 
> I have a lot of ideas for the upcoming chapters as well... Stay tuned!~
> 
> Thanks for reading! Will I be able to get the next chapter in by this upcoming weekend?
> 
> We'll see! Regardless, plan for a release of a chapter on 4/12/2020. :)


	5. Mission at The University of Dark Arts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “…is that a yes, Natalya?” He whispered lowly, now leaning himself forward to rest his forehead against her small one. To even emphasize his point, he pressed a small kiss against her ear while patiently waiting. He would wait a thousand years if he had to in order to get that yes.
> 
> ‘Is that a yes’… See, this was the route where she could call him cheesy. Natalya had figured that at that point he probably considered the entire thing cheesy, but no, it wasn’t cheesy at all. If anything, if he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend, she was glad he did it that way rather than beg her like most boys she knows would’ve.
> 
> And that was what made it special to her,
> 
> Her lips once more pressed against his in one more exchange before she pulled back, looking up at the other. Their lips were still dangerously centimeters apart from one another, but then and there, she had made her decision.
> 
> “…Yes. I’ll be your girlfriend.”

The day her ring was taken from her possession meant the completion of a mission for one group, but also the start of a new mission for another group. 

A week had passed since the ring was first stolen, which gave a chance for the three witches to further experiment on it with the plan they had established since the beginning of the school year. The goal was to transfer the power source from the scepter of Solis to their own wands, which would ultimately give them the ability to conduct spells that were impossible to do by any Witch or Warlock.

Research had shown to the three witches that the scepter of Solis was a very powerful tool. A powerful tool that they believed to have been associated with the dragon flame and heart of ice, which to them and the majority of the magic dimension, they believed it had been abolished and ceased to exist. The dragon flame and heart of ice were two of the most powerful sources of magic that could take down anything.

From the smallest witch to the largest monster, anyone who was to possess the power would have the ability to conduct magic that was impossible for anyone else. It was rumored that the Scepter had a bit of its source, which was what the witches immediately attempted to experiment to see if the rumor or information they had researched was indeed true.

Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula had been seated in a circle in the middle of their dorm. Beds were pushed back to the wall, they all had been holding onto candles, as well as been wearing their cloaks. In front of all of them, had been a pentagram in the shape of a heart with what seemed to be different names associated with the individuals involved with the dragon flame and heart of ice. 

All of their eyes were closed as dark magic glowed throughout the room. The candles that were in their hands went from bright light to going completely out as the presence of dark magic was being executed. The ring was placed in the middle of the pentagram as dark magic swarmed around it, this being an indicator of the process of the transfer taking place. 

“ _Spelias, continuous vantrum calum..”_

The three women had said in unison to conduct the ritual. The phrase was repeated three times, each chant becoming louder as the presence of dark magic grew more and more… 

…Until a large explosion was made in the middle of the pentagram.

This one explosion had sent each witch flying off in different directions of the room while all lights were shut off. The ring itself, completely unharmed, was resting in the middle of the pentagram. 

Nothing had happened. 

Gelinda slowly picked herself up from the ground by pushing herself up; now lowering the hood of the cloak she had been wearing to see if any change was made to the ring… She didn’t feel any power, and by the looks of it, nothing had happened either. 

“Damn it!” She had taken off the cloak she was wearing and tossed it to the ground, clearly angered at the results of what came, “This is the seventeenth time we fucking did this power spell ritual, and nothing happened!” She glared right at the other two women who had also been in the process of standing up after that explosion, “We’re missing something — _what_ are we missing!? WHY CAN’T WE USE THE RING’S FULL POWER!?” The second she had said this, she had walked right over to Aviana in particular and grabbed her by the collar, “Did you REALLY research every form of jewelry that _could’ve_ been associated with the dragon flame and heart of ice?” 

Aviana, who had hit her head against the wall from the explosion, brought a hand up to her forehead as she rubbed it, “Yes, I did!” She exclaimed back to the other before shoving Gelinda away, “Realm-wide research. The ring of Solis was the number one result that could _possibly_ have a connection to the former queen’s power.” 

“You know,” Nebula had already finished standing up from the ground and removed her cloak; dusting off her shoulder, “Gelinda, I think you’ve been wrong the entire time. Since the Kingdom of Sparx was destroyed all those years ago, the dragon flame and heart of ice were destroyed too. Even our ancestors weren’t able to get it, for crying out loud.” 

“I AM _NOT_ WRONG!” Gelinda had shouted once more at the other, which immediately had Nebula taken aback. As the two other witches watched the other witch who seemed to be furious, the ring was picked up as she stared at it in annoyance, “We WERE SO CLOSE! If this ring doesn’t contain any part of the dragon flame and heart of ice, then all of those speculations and research you did was for NOTHING!” 

“Maybe everyone was right about what happened, though.” Aviana commented, watching as the other held onto the ring in her fist, “The entire royal family disappeared after the attack. The King was murdered, the Queen vanished, and no one knows what happened to their children. The dragon flame and heart of ice died with the Queen, okay!? It’s IMPOSSIBLE to find it at this point!”

“NO!” The ring that was in Gelinda’s hand was soon tossed straight to the ground, which it had bounced off underneath one of the beds with no damage to it at all, “IF the dragon flame and heart of ice truly disappeared, the magic dimension would’ve ceased to exist. Its powers are what created this dimension, and seeing that no one is dead, the power is still alive and it’s SO CLOSE! I DARE YOU TO PROVE ME WRONG!”

The arguing between the three witches had lasted for a majority of that evening. It had been about two weeks since they had stolen the ring, which while they thought it would take only one day to obtain its power - that wasn’t the case at all. Every day, at least twice in between their classes, they had conducted the same ritual to obtain the power.

But all trials were unsuccessful. The longer it took for them to conduct the rituals, however, gave more time for the second group of girls who were in the process of their own mission to retrieve the ring back.

The fairies had Lenfia had decided after that ball, it would be their mission to get the ring back for Florentyna. Not only was it a symbol of Solis, but it was also a powerful tool that was part of Florentyna. The issue was that they needed to have a plan in order to retrieve it back.

Since day one of their semester, it was preached by not only the Head of Discipline but the headmistress herself to stay away from the University of Dark Arts. While they wouldn’t be punished for going, witches and warlocks absolutely despised fairies. They could be turned into something, sent to another planet, or even killed. It was that dangerous of a circumstance…

…But that didn’t stop the fairies at all from conducting their plan.

The period of those two weeks though was mainly on their planning on how the mission would take place. First, it would have to be at night when everyone was asleep. Secondly, it had to be a time when the witches weren’t in their room. Third of all, it had to be a time too where they couldn’t get caught by the headmistress over at the Tower of the Dead.

This time frame had also allowed them to continue on with their classes and training as fairies. For Natalya, in particular, now that she had unlocked her charmix, she was able to get right back on track with her training. Sure, sometimes she struggled to try to figure out when or how to use her magic… But, it all came naturally to her. In her classes, she had the ability to manipulate fire and ice anytime she controlled her powers to do so.

Her professors took note of this as well and even had mentioned that fire and ice were two elements that were indeed powerful when combined together. By the end of her first year, she could be conducting spells that some fairies have difficulty trying to perfect with only one element of power. 

Classes especially became fun as well when it came to hand-to-hand combat. Since it was a training school for fairies, fairies were expected to be trained in all forms of fighting and combat to ensure that they knew what to do in case if they were to encounter enemies. These battles, of course, weren’t against other fairies, but against fake figures created by Professors that matched the skill levels of each fairy involved. 

Today was a Friday where one of these classes was being held.

A group of twenty students, first years had been standing in the athletic field of Lenfia’s campus lined up all in their fairy forms. The Professor, who went by the name Polonium, who had been a wizard elf, had been holding onto a clipboard while watching each fairy who had gone up.

Since it had been just the start of midterm season, last-minute examinations were to be conducted for the first years before they could proceed with their midterms. Midterms were to record the progress that had been made to a fairy’s power throughout the past few weeks. This class, in particular, was a training session to prepare the fairies for their examinations. 

“ _Alright Ms. Xiao,”_ The Professor had spoken while holding onto a timer, continuing to watch as the fairy had been midair in the middle of fighting what seemed to be an illusion of a monster, “You have twenty seconds left!” 

As Mei had heard this, she had looked over at the Professor and gave a nod as she flew much higher into the air. Below her, not only included her peers but Natalya and Florentyna who had been watching intensively. Florentyna had been resting on a bench since she had already gone, however, it was soon to be Natalya’s turn next after Mei.

The fairy of music looked right in the direction of the monster with her brows narrowed. She had a smirk to her face, waiting for the monster to approach first while she had held out her hands. In her hands, what looked like a flute had formed before she looked down at her peers and Professors, “…You might want to cover your ears.”

Cover ears? Everyone in the class had looked at one another, confused by what she had meant before they immediately did so. 

This was all perfect for Mei now as she brought the flute to her lips, waiting for the monster to attack. She first started to play what sounded like a beautiful melody, which confused the individuals who were watching. However, the second the monster had lunged right in her direction, a sharp, piercing note came screaming from the flute that had resulted in a powerful gleam of energy to go flying through the monster. The monster had taken the hit and soon vanished into dust. 

Claps could be heard from the students when Mei had done such. Even the Professor, who was indeed amazed as he wrote down on the chart her results, “Well then… I suppose you’re ready for your midterm, young lady. Good job,” He began, resulting in Mei to fly down with a smile.

“Thank you, Professor,” Mei responded; the flute immediately vanishing in her hands before she had gone to take a seat on the bench. For one thing, battling a giant monster wasn’t easy at all, but at least she was able to do it.

It took about a moment for the Professor to finish writing his notes before turning to the class, which he had noticed the very last one in line seemed to be Natalya, “Alright then, Ms. Arlovskaya. It’s your turn.” 

Hearing these words had Natalya feel her heart beginning to build up. Not out of fear, but more out of nervousness because this was the first time she’s battled against anything. Her magic so far had been used for other class activities such as potions or conducting easy spells for exercises, but nothing yet for fighting giant magical creatures.

Alas, there was no time that could be wasted and she couldn’t escape it. So with a nod, Natalya had flown directly up into the air where she looked down at the Professor for further instruction.

“You will have a minute and a half to take down the monster, Natalya,” The Professor explained before holding out his hands. Soon, the same exact monster that Mei had gone against had immediately appeared, this time seems like it wasn’t as injured as it was before, “Defeat it before the time runs out using your powers. You have permission to use any spells that you wish. If you pass, you will be able to proceed into your midterm. If you do not, then you’ll have to spend an extra credit session with me during midterms. Understood?” 

The last thing Natalya wanted right now was to be behind. She was already behind when the beginning of the semester had begun, especially since she hadn’t unlocked her powers. But now that she had fully discovered them in addition to her fairy form, she was all caught up. She didn’t want to get herself behind like she was before, “Understood, sir.”

“Fantastic,” As the Professor heard her agreement, the watch that he was in his hand was reset to a minute and a half. He waited for a moment; noticing that Natalya already had been getting into position for a battle, “Your time starts…” Natalya had looked right at the monster; her hands sparking of power in anticipation of what was to come, “…. _NOW!”_

The second she had heard this, cheers from below could be heard from her peers. Natalya looked right at the monster that the second it was free from its restraint the Professor had on it, it immediately had been running right at her direction. First thing, she couldn’t panic. 

Natalya looked down at the monster, and just as it had been about to jump on her, she had flown directly into the air which had the monster stumble back. She didn’t know how to stop it… That was the thing about this exam. Each fairy was unique to their own power, and to their own power only. Mei had used the power of music to have the monster explode from sound, while Florentyna had managed to use her power of the sun to make it melt. 

Her powers involved fire and ice from what she’s discovered… How the hell was she supposed to use fire and ice to stop a giant creature like that?

Though the longer she flew in the air thinking, that didn’t stop the timer from ticking, “You have a minute left, Ms. Arlovskaya!”

Hearing that minute confirmation had Natalya panic for just a moment, which gave a chance for the monster to longe right at her. As he did so, one arm was used to smack Natalya right out of the air and slam directly into the ground as a powerful gust of wind had filled the athletic field. 

Florentyna had gasped seeing this and stood up, though Mei had stopped her right away by grabbing her shoulder, “She can do this,” She spoke to the other, “Give her a second.” 

Taking the hit to the ground wasn’t a pleasant feeling at all. Pain shot up her back the second she landed on the ground, which at first she attempted to get up… But the pain was just radiating up and down - her body was put into shock. That was when the monster seemed to have taken his chance to charge right at her.

_You need to get up, now!_

There it was, that voice again in her head… As Natalya heard this, her eyes had widened and just a second before the monster could tackle on her, she had flown directly into the air. The Professor and her peers that had been watching began clapping and cheering for the girl, who instinctively already knew what to do next.

From there, Natalya had held her hands together to form what looked like a glowing orb. The orb had been bright, powerful, as cool air formed around the area that could bring chills to anyone. As the monster once again went in her direction, this was her chance now to make the attack. 

“ _Ice trap!_ ”

As Natalya had said this aloud, the orb that was in her hands was flown right in the direction of the monster, which had taken the hit. Though as it took the hit, soon, the ice had begun to form around it which resulted in loud screams to form. It was trapped just as the spell had said, which gave Natalya a chance to lower herself to the ground.

“ _You have twenty seconds left, Ms. Arlovskaya!”_

She could hear her Professor call out to her… Oh no, she wasn’t done yet.

With one hand shot up into the air, what looked like a burst of fire had filled the palm of her hand before she looked at the monster who was trapped with ice on its feet. Quickly flying herself up into the air, she had held this one hand full of magic before throwing it right at the monster while glowing power-filled around her; resulting in thrashing wind to pick up in the field, “— _Inferno flame!”_

The flame that was in her hand immediately went flying down towards the direction of the monster. The hit was made immediately, which the second it had made contact with the monster, flames had formed around its body as loud, piercing screams could be heard. The flames had picked up to forming around the monster before, within seconds, the figure of the monster had disintegrated into the air, leaving just dust to mark it once stood.

Clapping and cheering once more could be heard from the crowd of students as Natalya lowered herself to the ground; right onto her knees as she panted, hard. Gosh, she understood that doing spells could be tiring… But fighting a whole monster by herself? She now understood why the rest of her peers, including Florentyna and Mei, were all exhausted after it.

“…And with two seconds to spare!” The Professor chuckled writing down the information on his clipboard for Natalya. As he did so, Florentyna and Mei had rushed over to Natalya to help her up from the ground, giving her a bottle of water as well in the process of doing so, “Good job, Natalya. You’re ready for midterms.” 

Hearing that she had passed at least the practice portion of her midterms was probably the biggest relieving thing she has heard all day from Professor Polonium. The good thing was that everyone passed, so there didn’t have to be any extra credit sessions to be held.

“Wonderful job to all of you ladies. You all really put in a good fight today,” The Professor spoke as he finished writing down the details for Natalya’s practice, now looking up at the group of fairies, “Next time we meet, we will be going over what will be on your written assessment for midterms to prepare you. Have a good weekend and rest, you all deserve it.”

That was their dismissal for the class. The second fairies were all dismissed, some had already transformed back to their original attire while others had seemed to had decided to fly back to the campus rather than walking. Natalya, Mei, and Florentyna had been part of the group to transform back because there was no need to stay in their fairy forms for now.

“That was amazing, Natalya!” Florentyna began as the three walked over to the benches where their belongings were. From there, each of them had picked up their bags of schoolwork, “That’s so awesome too that you have two different energy sources for your powers. You were able to trap the monster with one, and light him on fire the next!”

“Come on,” Natalya chuckled as she shook her head, raising a brow at Florentyna when hearing this, “At least let me brag about how amazing it was for you to use your magic to melt the guy. It was horrifying, but also great at the same time,” She looked over at Mei, “Same with you. Using your sound magic to get him to explode.”

Mei chuckled when she heard this, smirking and tossing her hair behind her back, “Ah, it was nothing~ I guess that’s what happens when you combine sound magic with a very high sharp F on the flute… Now,” She lowered her voice into a whisper, “Are we going to do our mission tonight?”

Despite being done with their classes for the day, the day wasn’t going to be over for them at all. Today was the evening that they all had agreed to go sneak into the University of Dark Arts and well, steal the ring back.

Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone around as they walked back, giving Natalya a chance to reach into her book bag to pull out what looked like a book, “Mhm. I just need to return this to the library after I take a few more notes on it. I know it’s your ring Florentyna, but,” She looked over at the other, “There are a lot of things that I didn’t even know about it other than it being your planet’s treasure,”

“Well, duh,” Florentyna nodded in agreement, watching as Natalya flipped to a particular page as they stopped in one of the corners of one of the academic halls for a quick rest, “What do you mean by that?” 

Hearing this question, Natalya had flipped through the pages until she had managed to find a section on the ring of Solis. The main reason why she had the book in the first place was that she wanted to do a bit of research on the item and perhaps figure out why the witches were so eager to have it. From what she was told by Florentyna, the ring only worked with family members of the royal family… Aka, her or her parents. 

Before they got the ring back, they needed to be prepared for the mission. Being prepared meant to be prepared on what to expect if they were to take the ring back, “That’s what I’ve been studying for the last two weeks, Florentyna. About your ring, why the witches could be after it,” As she said this, she stopped at a page in the book. Mei and Florentyna had leaned in over the girl, curious to see what she was showing, “According to this,” Natalya began, “The ring is so powerful because it was created directly from starlight, which is one of the purest forms of magic in the universe. _But_ , what’s really interesting is that some say through rumors that it’s extra special because it’s made out of the same light that created this legendary creature who possesses these powers called…” She looked at both, “The dragon flame and heart of ice, which are the two elements that created the magic dimension… Do you know about this?”

Hearing this, Florentyna had reached for the book and looked at the information provided. It was right there in clear print, as well as had an image of her ring right in the middle of the page, “I mean,” She began, “I knew about the starlight stuff, but the other stuff about the dragon flame and heart of ice makes me surprised because no one told me that back home.”

“That’s insane,” Mei began as she brought a finger to her chin, thinking, “From what I remember from my history classes, the dragon flame and heart of ice are two sources of powerful magic that was… Well, it was destroyed more than fifteen years ago. No one knows how or why, but it just, did.”

“…Maybe that’s why the witches are so eager to have the ring,” Natalya decided, closing the book now as she looked over at the other two, “What if because the dragon flame and heart of ice was destroyed years ago, there’s still a little bit of it left in the ring. So if they have the ring, maybe they’ll be able to use whatever is left of it for their own benefit.”

“And that’s why we’re going to get it back tonight,” Florentyna whispered while Natalya had been in the process of putting the book away in her bag, “We’re leaving at midnight, right?”

A nod came from both Mei and Natalya. That was the plan they agreed to earlier this week, which meant that they all had a bit of time to kill before they had to leave, “I have to actually go to the library to drop off this book,” She began and looked at the other two, “I also want to do a bit more research to better understand the dragon flame, the heart of ice, and the ring all together to maybe figure out what these witches are up to.”

“Wow, look at you Natalya,” Mei chuckled as she adjusted the straps of her bag on her shoulder, “Investigative much?”

“I mean…” They weren’t wrong. But it was better to go into this mission prepared rather than not, right? “I’m just trying to not find any surprises tonight. I’d rather be prepared and expect the unexpected.”

“Alright, fair enough.” Florentyna chuckled and slid her arm in between Mei’s, “We’ll catch up with you at dinner, then.”

“Great. See you guys later,” As Natalya said this, she waved them off and watched as the two went towards the first-year dorms while she went the opposite direction of the library.

While she planned on checking the book bag in, there was also another issue at hand. Earlier that morning she had gone to go see if she could do more research on the ring, and upon finding books about the magic dimension, she wanted to learn more about its creation and development. After all, on Earth, it was taught that the creation of the universe came from the Bible or that everyone was once monkeys. That made her curiosity peak at how did the magic dimension come to where it was today?

Then, led to the topic of the two elements that had created the magic universe. The dragon flame and heart of ice, which was explained to be that a god and a goddess had fallen in love. One of fire, one of ice, which their love together was what sparked the birth to both powers being combined. With both powers combined, they brought life to the magic dimension, thus leading for magical beings to exist. 

As for where these two powerful elements were? Well, she had no idea. That was where the rumor came in with the power disappearing and a small amount of its source left through Florentyna’s ring. The big issue though for her was that if she wanted to learn more about the elements, she had to get access to the restricted area of the library.

And when she had asked the librarian earlier if she could go in and check out a book from the restricted area?

“ _No first years allowed.”_

The words practically slapped Natalya right on the face from being reminded of it earlier that morning. If she were to go back to check-in the book and ask again, she was sure she would get denial right away.

“How am I supposed to get into the restricted vault if I’m not even allowed to…” Natalya couldn’t help but mutter to herself in frustration as she walked through the hallways of the academic hall she was in. The library was close, so she continued onwards, “…Maybe there’s a way to convince that librarian to let me in…”

However, as she walked, there had been one individual who had been doing the usual Friday checks in classes for the day. Green orbs looked over as the blonde passed by her. It took her a moment to realize who it was, before soon she had called out to Natalya, “ _You were trying to get into the restricted vault?”_

Everything froze on Natalya’s body right then and there. The second she recognized the voice, she slowly turned around and found her eyes go wide seeing the brown hair, the glasses, green orbs and a very nice outfit that belonged to the familiar— “Headmistress Radella, I— No—“

The Headmistress was a very powerful figure in the entire university. Throughout the last few weeks, since Natalya had confessed to her that she was a girl from Earth, she had kept an eye on her. After all, it was a very unique thing that someone with powers had managed to come to the magic dimension all the way from Earth. It just so happened to be a coincidence that she was also walking through that hallway, but she hadn’t been expecting to hear Natalya talking to herself about going into the vault.

Her eyes narrowed hearing the girl say no to her, which showed that Radella was a very smart individual. Shit, now Natalya was caught, “…I mean, yes ma’am.” She sighed. She wasn’t going to confess that it was because she had a secret mission tonight but came up with the excuse of, “I… I’m doing a bit of research for a class, you see. The beginning of the magic dimension with the dragon flame and heart of ice.”

“…Ah, that’s an old story, my dear.” Radella had commented, indeed surprised to be hearing that she was interested in doing a project on that? It was a story that was taught to many children of the magic dimension for years. Why was Natalya doing a project on that, anyway? “If you’d like, I’d be happy to tell you the story in my office. Consider it something as part of your project getting to hear the experience of someone who has seen the dragon flame and heart of ice myself with my own two eyes.”

The second Natalya had heard this, her eyes had widened. Headmistress Radella had experience with those powers?… It was, baffling to her. Shocking to her, to say the least. But alas, she agreed with a nod and followed just behind.

The Headmistress’s office was at the fifth level of the academic building, where most offices were present for professors and other faculty. To get up, they had to take an elevator which was short, before soon they had arrived to a pair of grand doors. Radella had held the door open for Natalya, motioning for her to go in before the girl nodded and approached a seat that was in front of the woman’s desk.

Radella approached her desk now and pulled out her seat; settling down as she noticed that one of her assistants had already brought in her afternoon tea. She smiled at this, pouring herself a cup while Natalya had watched the woman intensively to gain information, “Let’s see… Well, as you know Natalya,” She began, “The beginning of the magic universe was created by two individuals; a god who possessed the dragon flame, and a goddess who possessed the heart of ice. Upon falling in love with one another, they vowed to show love towards one another by combing their powers and birthing the magic dimension. The magic dimension was to be a place where all users of magic would be able to live comfortably and happily while enjoying the pleasures that nature had to provide.”

As Radella explained this, Natalya had crossed a leg and listened closely. This was what she knew already, but what came next from the older woman was new.

“You see after the magic dimension was created, the two wished to rest together for eternity,” Radella explained before taking a sip out of her tea. She cleared her throat afterward before lowering the cup, “So, they decided to create a world called Sparx. The world that served as the capital planet of the magic dimension, where they had chosen amongst the people they had created to carry out the power for the rest of existence to protect the universe and its people. That was the birth of the first guardian fairy of the magic dimension.” As she explained this, she closed her eyes now which caught Natalya’s attention, “The first guardian fairy of the magic dimension gave the sole duty of not only protecting the dragon flame and heart of ice but to use its powers for the greater good. Protecting everyone, giving life to planets, and serving as the Princess of the greatest power of the entire dimension… But then the first Princess grew old, and she passed the power onto her daughter who served with the same purpose. Then came the next heir, to the next heir, to the next hair, as generations of these guardian fairies were known to have kept the dimension safe.”

“…Pardon me, ma’am,” Natalya began, now reaching into her bag to pull out the book she had checked out earlier from the library. She didn’t go particularly to the page she was researching, which was about Florentyna’s ring, but mainly went to the page all about the dragon flame and heart of ice, “It says here though, that the dragon flame and heart of ice doesn’t exist anymore… Let alone, this planet Sparx you’re talking about, doesn’t exist at all either… Was it even real?”

A small frown formed on Radella’s face when she heard this. It pained her to hear such questions from the girl, but alas, she sighed and nodded, “It was a real planet. But sadly, almost… Seventeen years ago,” She paused, has it really been that long? “The planet was destroyed. A coven of evil witches went there seeking for the dragon flame and heart of ice. They did anything to get the power, which included destroying the planet in the process of doing so.”

As Natalya heard this, her eyes had widened in shock. That sounded absolutely terrible… On Earth, for years people always speculated the ‘end of the world’, but that planet really got the nuke if witches destroyed it, “What about the dragon flame and heart of ice?” Natalya had followed up, “You said it was a guardian fairy who was supposed to protect it. Did they end up getting the power in the end?”

“No. Which thank heavens they didn’t,” Radella sighed, yet on the expression on her face, clearly there was something wrong… And Natalya didn’t understand why at all, “As for the guardian fairy… Well… No one knows what happened with her, other than the dragon flame and heart of ice was gone. No one knows what she did with it or what happened with her… Or even her family, really.”

The memory was old, but sometimes thinking of it did break her heart truly. It was such a beautiful day before the tragedy had happened as well. All Radella had remembered that the entire planet was celebrating the birth of her new daughter before the attacks began… The fairy had given the infant to her oldest child and told her to run. Radella was supposed to take the children and get them to Magix to keep them safe…

…But by the time she found the children, not only was the baby gone, but the fairy was gone, and the witches had the two eldest children under their possession. 

It was a nightmare of an event that to that day, broke her heart. The fairy was practically a sister to her; serving in the Company of Light together as one of her guardian fairies to protect the dragon flame and heart of ice. The guardian fairy even trusted Radella enough to take on the name as a fairy godmother for her newest baby, which to that day, Radella had no idea what happened to the baby. 

And it was a day that she for the first time felt like a failure as a guardian fairy.

“…Tell me, Natalya,” Radella had spoken up now upon realizing that she had been very silent the last minute or so, which she noticed Natalya getting suspicious, “Is your project strictly on the creation of the magic dimension, or the dragon flame and heart of ice in particular?” 

That was a question Natalya didn’t expect to hear at all. It took her for a moment to come up with a lie, but something instinctively came to her as she answered, “The dragon flame and heart of ice, really. Just, how it works because there’s a chapter in the book that rumors it too well, still exist somewhere in the dimension.”

The rumors were something that even Radella couldn’t put her finger on it. Since the disappearance of the royal family, a lot of researchers had speculated what had happened to the magic. Some believe that it exists and some believe that it disappeared along with the family. Still, Radella figured she may as well not pressure the girl for any more questions, “I see, alright then. Do you have any questions for me, or are you all set?”

Any more questions… In all truths, no, Natalya didn’t. Mainly because she had to get back to her suite to prepare for the journey that was to take place tonight. So with a shake of her head, she stood up from her seat and looked at the headmistress with a small smile to dismiss herself, “I don’t, ma’am. But I appreciate all of the information. You have my gratitude, thank you.”

A nod of understanding was given by Radella now, giving her permission for her to leave. Natalya took this as her chance to turn around and leave, but of course, as she left, Radella found herself staring at the girl until she reached for the door and left, leaving this lingering feeling in her chest…

…Why did it feel like she’s known Natalya for years?

Alas, leaving that office was probably another relieving thing to experience that day minus the practice for midterms. Right now, Natalya had to get the book back to the library, go back to her suite, eat dinner, and at least try to get a bit of sleep before waking up at midnight to go. After all, she had no idea how long it would take to get the ring back.

The goal was to leave at midnight when everyone was fast asleep. With preparation for this mission, Monika was fortunate enough to have found a map that connected to the undergrounds of each different university. All they would have to do was travel underground, get to the Tower of the Dead, break into their dorm, steal the ring back, and hopefully be back before the sun rose. 

It didn’t take long for Natalya to drop off the book. Once she had, which was just dropping it off at the front desk, this gave her the chance to return up to her suite. Still, as she walked back, there was something that still bothered her about not getting into the restricted vault. It was as if something had been calling out to her to go check it, but that didn’t or probably wouldn’t happen at all until she was the third year.

The keys for the suite were taken out of her bag now as she walked from the library back to the first-year dormitories. Fortunately, it was just across the academic building and a trip up a few flights of stairs. Which when she did arrive, she had used the keys to unlock the door to something smelling… Delicious? 

Walking inside the room, she had placed her keys onto the hanger that was set out for the rest of the girls as she wandered to the kitchen, only to see that there was a pizza laid out on the table in addition to all of her friends grabbing slices.

“Wow,” Natalya began to acknowledge her presence, which immediately got the entire group’s attention, “Already eating dinner, huh?”  


“It was Florentyna’s idea,” Tatyana suggested as she had approached a stack of paper plates, handing one over to Natalya so she could grab some to eat, “After all, technically if we’re leaving tonight, we should at least plan to go to bed in the next hour."

“Oh absolutely,” Florentyna nodded in agreement as she was in the middle of biting into her food. From there, she had swallowed quickly, “I need my beauty sleep. Oh, also Nat,” She remembered about something and cut herself off before motioning to the counter, “Someone delivered something to our door earlier.”

On the counter, the first thing that Natalya had seen as well, a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Her eyes widened seeing this, which resulted in her to slowly walk over where she noticed that there was a card in the bouquet. All she had done was place her plate down and took a moment to read the letter.

‘ _You + Me + Movie + Pizza = Date, tomorrow night?’_

…Classic Alfred. The bouquet was absolutely gorgeous, she had to admit… With beautiful roses in red and white, it was sweet, really. Natalya never thought she’d be the kind of person to like flowers, but since starting to date Alfred…Well, she loved it. It was a good reminder to know too that if she needed anything, he was there for her.

“What’d the boyfriend say this time, huh?~” Florentyna giggled, reaching over to snatch the card that was from Natalya’s hands. When reading the note, her brows rose as she looked at the other, then back at the note, “Well well well, looks like Alfred wants to take you out on a date, hm?”

“A date?” Tatyana gasped as she brought a hand to her chest; a smile forming along her lips as she said this, “How romantic! I’m so jealous, Natalya. I wish people would ask me out through flowers.” 

“…Remind me to send him a letter tonight,” Natalya chuckled as she took the note back from Florentyna, this time shoving it right in her bra so the other wouldn’t dare to snatch it back. As she did so, she reached for her plate to pick up a slice of pizza now, “I’m not doing anything tomorrow night, so I don’t see why not.” 

“You know Nat,” Monika spoke up now, taking another bite out of her pizza with a small hum, “When you guys disappeared after the ball, I wasn’t expecting for you to come back to the suite so late and tell us he asked you to be his girlfriend. What did you guys do anyway?” 

What did the two exactly do? Well, for Natalya, she didn’t know if her friends were ready to hear what she and Alfred had done… And it wasn’t anything bad, really. Sure, they had their first kiss together, but they spent the evening alone together… And she promised him a dance. They danced together under the moonlight, wandered off to a more private area of the campus and just… Talked.

But Florentyna, of course, had to suggest the craziest thing, “They probably fucked.”  


“-No!” Natalya felt her face go red in embarrassment while glaring over at the other, “No, we didn’t do that at all. Yes, he’s cute… Hell, he’s handsome, but we didn’t fuck.” She huffed. 

“Well, if anything,” Mei motioned to Natalya’s chest where she had hidden the note, “That note screams that he wants to get intimate with you. Probably not fuck, but maybe just have a good time if you know what I mean.”

An annoyed glare formed on Natalya’s face right away. Seriously, why was it that she couldn’t have a normal conversation with her friends without it having to involve something inappropriate? “Listen,” Natalya began, “Yes, we kissed at the ball. But we ended up talking together for the rest of the night. Nothing more than that. About personal stuff.”

“…Aww, that’s so sweet.” Tatyana couldn’t help but to smile, not being the one to bring up any more inappropriate questions unlike the other girls, “I’m really happy for you, Natalya. Really. He seems like a good person that cares for you a lot. I’m glad things are going smoothly."

“…Me too.” Natalya responded, which was a reaction that no one in the group had been expecting to hear. As she said this, she already had begun to take bites out of her pizza, “Not in a bad way… It’s just, I never thought I’d actually… Fall for a guy. I thought no one liked me for the longest time… And Alfred just, makes me really happy, I feel all warm and… comfortable around him... That if I was dying and he was the last person I thought of, I’d rest in peace.”

Silence came from the group when she had said this - all before Mei had interrupted with a nod, “Yup. She’s in love. It’s over guys, she’s madly in love with a guy who reads comic books and plays video games.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Natalya rose a brow, “I like playing with knives and he said he still likes me.” 

“See, it’s true love!~” Florentyna smirked as she stood up, almost as if she were proud to hear that it was all working out… While she’d never admitted to Natalya she was sort-of playing matchmaker with her and Alfred, she’d stay proud in her own quiet corner, “That’s how love is. You love each other no matter what your interests are.”

Loving each other no matter what. That was one thing that Natalya came to realize after spending time with Alfred. Sure, there were some things that she learned about him that he did, but at the end of the day, she still loved him for who she was. But, at that moment, right now she’d plan on texting him later to respond to that offer. Instead, she looked at the group and took in a plan, “So, do we want to run over the gameplay for tonight?”

Running over what the plan was for that evening seemed to be what the rest of the group had agreed to. And so, Monika had approached the dining room table and took out what looked like a mobile device. It had been placed on the table before a map formed to reveal the route they had planned out.

“We’ll start off here at Lenfia to get to the Tower of the Dead,” Monika began, pointing at what looked like an ‘X’ before moving her hands along, “Once we get to the Tower, the witches room is on the second floor thanks to hacking into the residential life’s database. Anyway, we get the ring, and then we take the same exit back to Lenfia. The thing is though, just as a reminder,” She looked at the group, “We want to be as quiet as we can. There is still security set up at the University of Dark Arts, so we need to be discreet and make sure all of our movements are subtle.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Florentyna reassured the other while walking over to the trash can in the kitchen to toss her empty plate since she was done with eating. As she did so, she reached for a napkin to wipe her lips, “Sounds like a good plan to me. I’m going to go get myself ready for bed,” 

That was a fair point. Already it was just about six in the evening, which meant they all needed to get some sleep before going to the Tower if they were going to leave at midnight. That way if they went to bed at seven, they would get at least five hours of sleep to have energy, and then they could sleep all day tomorrow morning…

…Plus with Natalya having the said date, she should prepare herself to at least have the energy to spend time with Alfred.

“Alright then… I guess this dinner is adjourned,” Monika began and reached for the device once everyone had finished looking over the map, “We’ll all meet in the living room at 11:30, and plan on leaving at midnight.” 

That was the plan that they all had. And thus, once the meeting was indeed adjourned, also came the end to their ‘quick dinner’. Mainly this included putting leftovers away and cleaning, but ultimately, the group of girls had split to their respective rooms to get ready to sleep for just a few hours. For Natalya, this mainly involved taking a quick shower, getting into comfortable traveling clothes so she could get up and go. 

However, just before she had done that… Maybe it was better to call Alfred rather than text them. So while Tatyana had been off brushing her teeth in their shared bathroom, this gave Natalya the chance to take out her phone and dial the other up.

For Alfred, it was a Friday night at UHB. Which meant for the boys there, it was game night. For him, mainly this involved spending time with his friends by playing video games and doing a bit of drinking, but ultimately, it wasn’t to get too crazy. After all, he was just having fun and relaxing after a week of classes. He had been in the middle of playing a few games with some of his friends, but the second his phone had gone off and the familiar picture of Natalya had appeared on his phone, he had dropped everything.

“Give me five minutes guys,” Alfred began, putting the game on pause as his friends looked at him as if he were crazy. But he didn’t care as he stepped out of the room, picking up the phone with a smirk drawn to his face, “Why yes, and am I speaking to the beautiful Miss Natalya Arlovskaya?”

“… _Oh shut the fuck up.”_

Alfred chuckled when he heard this. He was only teasing her, but the only reason why he did it was that he loved it. Despite she had such a cold-rock outside personality, on the inside, she was a softy. And he knew that big time, “What’s up? Have a good day today?”

As Natalya heard his question, she had sat down on the edge of her bed. In her fingers, she had been holding onto the card that she had gotten from him earlier, “…Well, I got back from classes… And I saw someone left some flowers on my doorstep.”

“ _Really? What kind of creep would do that?”_

And there was the chuckling from Alfred again. Truly, sometimes she didn’t understand his sense of humor, but she realized over time that he was just as sarcastic as her. Alfred of course, rested his back against the wall of the room he was in, “…So? What do you think?”

“I think it’s cheesy that you asked me out again through a note.” Natalya began because it really was. But still, there was something about it that she really liked knowing that Alfred would go the cheesy, weird route just to impress her, “What do I think about it… Well, what movie are you offering?”

_“Have you ever seen any movies from the magic dimension before?”_

_“Nope.”_

“Great,” Alfred smiled when hearing her response. If there was one thing that was unique to her, she was technically a foreigner in the whole magic dimension… She hasn’t even seen any movies at all that have been filmed and produced, so this was his chance to show the amazing wonders of how entertainment worked in their world, minus the aspect of magic, “Then I have a movie in mind that I know you’ll love for sure.”

She’ll love for sure? Natalya rose a brow and lifted up the blanket of her bed so she could at least begin to get herself comfortable in bed, “What genre?”

_“Horror.”_

There was a large, plastered smirk on Alfred’s face when he had heard this. It was perfect because when he had learned that Natalya was more into horror films, he had to think back to every horror film that he watched growing up. And well, that was points on Natalya’s end as she laid her head down on her pillow.

“Alright, Alfred… You win,” Natalya chuckled, fully giving into the idea. Since being in the magic dimension, she hadn’t seen anything at all. Television, movies - she did that on earth… She didn’t even know how different it was here in this dimension, “What time were you thinking?”

Hearing this was like music to his ears. A date tomorrow with Natalya - just him and her… Which meant that he definitely needed to first make sure Gilbert wasn’t around tomorrow, as well as clean up his room a bit, “Uh… How does 6 PM sound for ya? I’m sure you eat dinner around that time too, right?”

“Depending on what time my last class of the day ends, yes.” Natalya shrugged for a moment since well, he wasn’t wrong at all. “Alright, 6 then. I’ll be there.”

The excitement just built up in Alfred when he had heard this. Yes! Sure, they already had their first date together, but he truly was looking forward to it. Spending time with Natalya along with not having to worry about any other responsibilities.

“Great… I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Alfred took in a breath now, biting down on his lower lip since well, there was something he had been wanting to say to her for a while… But anytime he did, it just, wouldn’t come out. Why was saying ‘I love you’ so ridiculously hard? Maybe he could tell her tomorrow in person?… When he wasn’t this nervous all of the sudden out of his mind? “Sweet dreams, beautiful.” 

_Click_

The second Natalya had heard this, her eyes glanced right at the phone with her brows risen in amusement. The compliment left a small smile on her face, because well indeed, it was a nice way to going to bed that night. Being told complimented by someone that she cared and admired - she never really got that treatment at all growing up around others. It was nice, truly.

As for Alfred, well, he looked down at his phone and let out a small sigh. His back had been resting against the wall, trying to figure out why he got so nervous… Maybe because he thought it was too soon? Because it was true, he really did love her after getting to know her. But love was such a powerful word, and after hearing about her experiences growing up from getting bullied to dealing with guys who were just jerks to her, he didn’t want to scare her off if he told her how he felt.

Tomorrow though, for sure he’d get it off his chest.

The entire suite of fairies had gone to bed just at around 6:30 in the evening. Going to sleep at an earlier time wasn’t an issue for all of them, especially for those who had gone through the practice training for their midterm really needed to get the sleep to perform well later that evening. They had to be prepared for anything to come from the Tower of the Dead. The main goal though that they had was to not get caught on property. 

They all didn’t know how the headmistress was, but just by ear, it was rumored that the woman wasn’t particularly easy on fairies when it came to punishments.

Alas, four hours had passed since they had all gone to bed. It was thanks to each of their alarms that they were all up by 11. Tatyana and Mei were up first to get themselves dressed, followed by Natalya and Monika who seemed to be preparing cups of tea in the kitchen to get some caffeine in their bodies… But then there was Florentyna, who slept through her alarm. 

The thing was that it was easy for the group of fairies to wake Florentyna up. All they had to do was go into her room, turn on the light, and throw a pillow at her. Natalya had volunteered to take the risk and do it, because after all, the main reason why they were breaking in and risking themselves to get in trouble was for the sake of Florentyna’s ring. One hit with the pillow by Natalya and Florentyna was rolling off the bed in a panicked shriek.

“Get up,” Natalya had stated to the other while she had been in the middle of eating an apple for some energy, “We’re leaving in five minutes.” 

Leaving Florentyna’s room and leaving the girl on the ground shocked proved that the method of waking her up worked every time. At around 11:25, four out of the five fairies were ready to go… But in the end, they eventually left their suite in darker attire so they wouldn’t stand out at around 11:35 thanks to Florentyna sleeping in through her alarms.

Wandering through the hallways this late at Lenfia was very horrifying. There were no lights on, which showed that the school was closed for the night. Fortunately, due to having ID cards, it wasn’t hard for them to walk out of their dormitory and walk one building down to where the academic building was for first years. They were all dead silent as they used their keys to scan in, walking directly inside where Natalya had led the way to the underground entrance of the school.

This underground entrance was a coincidence to find two weeks ago when she was looking for a pair of scissors. While she didn’t get a chance to look through it more due to the witches being present, it was easy for the group to find and make their way to it quickly. Just as expected, the door was unlocked for any magical creature to walk in without any issue. One by one, they each walked through the door and went down the staircase. The door was closed to ensure no one knew they were there. Once it was, all the girls had reached into their bags to pull out a flashlight.

The one thing that Natalya didn’t know was that upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, the underground entrance was very dark. She was glad she had suggested for them all to bring flashlights since at least they knew where they were walking the entire time. 

And so, the journey began onwards to the Tower of the Dead.

The underground tunnel was similar to any other cave. There were rocks, water was dripping, and the occasional spider or two dashing across the floor. Monika had been the one to lead as she had been holding onto a map; her eyes focused on it while continuing to walk ahead, “It says here it’ll take us about two miles to get there, so I’d say about… twenty minutes of walking?”  
  
“Good exercise for us then after eating that pizza,” Mei began with a small hum to her tone of voice. On her head, she had been wearing a pair of headphones to show that she was listening to music. This was her way to at least get by the traveling portion of this mission.

Traveling through the underground, while it was creepy, it was indeed a good way to get some exercise - Mei was right. Though of course, the majority of the time the girls were quiet since it was still very late at night. They didn’t know if anyone could hear them, so it was better to stay safe than be sorry.

At the Tower of the Dead, the majority of students indeed were fast asleep seeing that all witches and warlock curfews were right at 10:00. It was the perfect timing for the fairies to go in, especially for the three witches who seemed to have their minds on another task.

Their room was dark and locked, indicating that the three witches weren’t present at all. Gelinda had just finished locking it with her key as she turned to the other two witches, who had been wearing their cloaks. As she did so, she took in a breath, “Last minute checks… did you bring the orca blood and your wands?

As Nebula and Aviana had lifted up their cloaks to indeed reveal their wands. On Aviana’s hip though, she also had a bottle that contained a red liquid. This was enough for Gelinda to nod before reaching into her own pocket to pull out a spellbook.

“Why do we have to go this late?” Nebula had spoken out in a whisper, clearly exhausted since well, they had been testing trials all day. She wanted to sleep.

“Because Nebula,” Gelinda had snapped her head back at the other; eyes narrowed in annoyance, “The dark forces don’t come out in a day, they come out at night. This means if we want to figure out why the fuck the ring isn’t working, then we need their guidance to help us find the dragon flame and heart of ice.” 

“Talk about a bad schedule on their end…” Aviana couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Gelinda let out a sigh once more and proceeded with looking at the spellbook in her hand. From there, she held out her hand, and let out a quiet enchantment in what seemed to be in a different language for witches.

“ _Allora, sutum alligaro… portal, awaken to lead us to the creatures of the dark._ ”

As the spell was cast, a portal indeed formed in front of the three witches, which had started Nebula and Aviana at first at the blast of wind that came. There was their portal, which meant it was time to go, “We’ll be back before 2 AM, and then you can sleep, okay?” Gelinda glared at the other two before pulling the hood of her cloak over her head.

The two witches followed with the same procedure with shielding their faces before soon stepping into the portal. Once the three had crossed entry, the portal vanished quickly…

…Just at the same time, a door had opened right on their floor.

The convenience of taking the underground tunnel method led to the fairies to take multiple routes throughout the tower. If they were to go forward, they would get to the entrance of the tower. If they had taken the first staircase they saw, they would’ve ended up in the first year dormitories, but they needed the third year rooms

The third-year dorms were located conveniently right next to the underground staircases, which made the mission even easier for the fairies to walk up the staircase and walk through the door. They hadn’t noticed the portal after it vanished, but one by one, they walked through the door before closing it silently.

“Wow…” Mei began as she looked over Monika’s shoulder, curious to see how she had figured it out so easily to get them there. She was the one who had hacked into the database of all magic universities to get the map, after all, “That was easier than I thought.”

“…Too easy, which is concerning,” Natalya spoke up in a whisper as she looked at the group, “Way too easy to come into here without any problems.”

“I’d rather not question it, honestly.” Florentyna began in a whisper herself, “Let’s just keep a low profile because it seems to be working… speaking of, which one is their room?”

As Monika was asked this question, the map was soon put away into her device before she slipped the device into her bag, “Their names should be on the door. So let’s check each door for their name plaque. We’ll break in, get the ring, and bail.” 

That seemed to be easy for them. There were five of them and it seemed to be one large long hallway. With that, they had all split up and one by one went up to each door quietly to read the plagues of each room name.

To say the least, there were indeed a lot of doors. It made sense since it was mainly a third-year dorm and there were a lot of witches and warlocks that attended the university, therefore the process taking about ten minutes or so for them to at least get through the first half of it. The first half of the hallway had nothing to Gelinda, Aviana, or Nebula… 

…However, upon turning a corner to see another row of rooms, the first room that Tatyana had noticed was right there, “Guys,” She had whispered to the other who seemed to be continuing with the search, “I found it.” 

Monika, Mei, Natalya, and Florentyna had approached the door in complete silence. The thing was that they had no idea if the witches were inside, which meant that they had to be very careful. Natalya had stepped in front of the group to indicate she would be the one to take the risk and go in first. So she waited a moment; brought a finger up to her lips to shush the others before going for opening the door…

And it was locked.

“Wow,” Florentyna began in a whisper, stepping towards Natalya to take the handle as she tried to open it, “Does that mean they’re not there?”

Hearing this comment caught Monika’s attention as she approached the door, placing her hand against it was a bright glow that came from her hands. As she did this, she closed her eyes; conducting a spell to see if there were any life forces in the room… Which from what she observed, there wasn’t, “I think so,” She pulled her hand back now and turned to face the group, “I don’t detect any life sources."

“…So the question then is, how do we get in?” Mei interrupted now with her head tilted.

“Easy.” Natalya began with a small smirk to her lips. If there was one thing she was glad about taking a class about spells, she learned a lot about what to do with her magic. In this case, she had placed her hand up to the door and closed her eyes, taking in a breath as she remembered the spell.

“ _Portalus.”_

As she had said this, slowly, her hand began to dip straight into the door which had immediately caught all of her friends off guard. Almost immediately upon doing this, Natalya had walked directly through the door and managed to get in. She unlocked the door now and opened it for her friends to get in as she peeked her head out.

“Wow…” Florentyna couldn’t help but chuckle as she looked at Natalya with her arms crossed, “I guess paying in class really does make an impact,”

“It’s called taking notes and studying, Florentyna. Maybe you should learn to do some of that too,” Natalya commented, which resulted in the group of girls to giggle before Natalya shushed at them in a reminder that they all had to be quiet, “Alright, let’s go. Florentyna, we’ll leave you to find the ring.”

One by one, each girl had walked into the suite before Natalya had closed the door. It was dark, but with one switch in the room, they were able to turn on a light to see the room. It was a large room, especially with it being meant for three people rather than just a single. 

Monika and Mei had stayed behind the door just in case of the watch while Natalya, Tatyana, and Florentyna had searched around the room. Of course, it was a large room, but that didn’t stop them from going through everything. They had to be quick. They didn’t know when the witches would be returning, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Hey, do you remember that spell we learned yesterday in class?” Tatyana began as she had been knelt down underneath the beds; searching through the items to see if there was any ring… But so far, nothing. Natalya had taken on the bathroom, which she didn’t find anything, while Florentyna was searching the dressers, “That one about finding lost items quickly?”

That was right, Natalya couldn’t help but poke her head out of the bathroom as Florentyna looked at the other with a confused expression on her face, “I remember it,” She began as she stepped out, “Florentyna would have to do it though because it’s her ring.”

A nervous chuckle came from Florentyna when she heard this. A spell about finding lost items, when she hadn’t been paying attention in class at all? She didn’t know it at all, “Ah…haha, funny thing, guys…”

“…you don’t remember the spell, do you?” Natalya began in an unamused tone of voice.

“I just… got distracted!”  


“Distracted,” Monika called out from the door in a low tone, “I’d bet a million dollars it’s not that at all,” 

The issue wasn’t that Florentyna didn’t know the spell. The issue was that going back to why Florentyna had been in the process of repeating her first year at Lenfia when she was technically supposed to be a second year. Since returning to Lenfia, Florentyna had promised to change her behavior and start paying attention more in her classes… But alas, then and there, the group had been witnessing her go back on her word.

And Natalya wasn’t going to allow that any further. 

“Florentyna, I’ll help you this one time with the spell,” Natalya began as she stepped out of the bathroom; turning off the light with a sigh, “But after tonight, this conversation isn’t over. You need to start paying attention more in classes.” 

Hearing the lecture from Natalya was something that Florentyna knew she needed to hear. After all, she told Natalya that she wanted to work on her grades and truly on herself… So rather than talk back to her friend, she nodded in understanding. There was no need to question it since she was right. 

“The spell is ‘Leadus to find what is lost, find it at any cost’,” Natalya explained to the other as Florentyna nodded again, this time holding her hands out in focus.

_“Leadus to find what is lost, find it at any cost,”_

A bright light had formed from the palms of Florentyna’s hand before flying immediately out of it, which indeed had caught the entire group’s attention. As this orb flew, it had searched around the room until flying directly behind what looked like to be a trashcan. Florentyna had approached the trash, looking right where the orb had been glowing… which it seemed to be that the ring was hidden underneath trash all along?  
  
A loud gasp came from the girl as she recognized the beautiful diamond that belonged to her ring. Florentyna reached for it, holding it up in the air, “Got it!” She began, resulting in the group to immediately shush at her. She chuckled slightly in embarrassment before looking at the trash, “Why was this all the way here? It looks like they were trying to throw it away.”

“No idea,” Tatyana couldn’t help but look at the trash, then at the ring in Florentyna’s hand that was soon placed right back onto her ring finger, “Anything else? Or are we all set?”

“I think that’s it,” Monika began, still by the door on standby with Mei, “We should get out of here before they come back.”

Getting out of there was what seemed to be on everyone’s minds the second they had located the ring. As for the witches had gone, they had no idea. Witches did interesting things when it was past midnight, so it was to be assumed that they were off conducting spells or interacting with darker spirits. No one knew. 

Monika had been the first to open the door for the group before one by one, they had all exited. Of course, to hide their trace of being there, she had waited for everyone to go out of the room, turn off the light, then lock the door just as it was before. They were all quiet as they did so since after all, the entire hallway still had witches who were fast asleep. 

The last thing they needed was for someone to hear them and a witch to notify all the other witches in that hall.

“Follow me,” Monika began, since she had paid attention to where the door was to the underground tunnel to lead them back to Lenfia, “It shouldn’t be too far from here to get to the door.” 

All five girls had been absolutely silent as they followed the short-haired blonde down the hallway. It was dead silent… Which was indeed creepy, but it was better than it is loud. Walking down the hallways, however, there was something that had managed to catch Natalya’s attention… Which was a larger door at the beginning of the hallway.

Her friends had already gone ahead, but as for her, she stopped seeing the plaque outside of the door to see that it had been one of the book chambers of that dormitory. It wasn’t a library… But, maybe there could be books from the restricted area of Lenfia in there? It was a dark arts school - they would have some restricted books, right

“…Hey, wait,” Natalya had called out in a whisper, which resulted in the group to stop and look at her as she was standing in front of the door, “This is their book chamber for third years… I want to stop here for a second to see if they have any more books about the dragon flame and heart of ice.”

As the group heard this, Tatyana and Florentyna were surprised to hear that the other was still at it. Mei simply yawned, but as for Monika, she gave a stern look at the other, “Natalya, this isn’t the time to be going through their library.”

“I know, but,” Natalya began in another whisper, “I’m not allowed near the restricted area of Lenfia because I’m a first year. If we want to figure out why these witches are eager for Florentyna’s ring, I think we should all better understand why this dragon flame and heart of ice are important to them. It’ll take only five minutes of our time,”

“I don’t see why not,” Mei responded as she approached Natalya to look up at the door. It looked like any normal library, so they shouldn’t get in trouble, right? “Nat has a point. These witches are up to something fishy and maybe there are books in here about those two elements.”

Monika clearly didn’t seem happy at all about hearing this, but alas, she also knew that they had a fair point. This was when she had looked at the watch on her wrist, staring at it for a moment before approaching Natalya and Mei with Tatyana and Florentyna just behind, “You have five minutes. After that, I’m dragging all of our asses back to Lenfia through a portal.”

What looked like relief filled Natalya’s expression as she grabbed onto Monika’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze, “Thank you.” She whispered once more before turning her head over to the door. With her hand on the handle, she slowly twisted it open for the door to unlock slowly… 

…Looks like there wasn’t any alarm system, because everything was dark inside. The only light that was present seemed to be the moonlight, which Natalya had taken her chance out take out her light to shine it inside the chamber. From just observing, there had been a lot of bookshelves and books scattered around, but there was no one present. They were safe, for now.

She had been the first to walk in followed by her friends. Monika of course, stood by at the door just for watch, while Natalya and the rest of the group began to explore the chamber. It looked like any other personal library… It was smaller, but there were indeed shelves and other documents laid out on desks meant for students to study. Seeing that this was a chamber dedicated for third years, it would make sense for it to be a private research area away from the first years or second years

As four out of the five wandered throughout the chamber, they all had used their flashlights now to see if they could find a book about the history of the magic dimension, “Do you know what the book looks like, Natalya?” Tatyana had asked as she had taken on the front of the room looking, but so far, nothing to be found.

“…Nope.” Natalya began, continuing to look through the shelf she had taken on in the back of the book chamber. Her eyes scrolled through the line of books, but nothing seemed to stand out. Eventually, she had ended up pulling out a book titled, ‘Magic Dimension’, figuring that maybe there would be something in it about the history, “I guess if you see any history books, just pull them out and see if you can find anything about the ring.”

The book in her hand was placed down onto a nearby desk. With her flashlight in her mouth, Natalya had taken this chance to open it up to see if there was anything inside it about the ring. However, as she did so, one thing that she had forgotten was the fact that all of these books were magical. 

The wind immediately blew from the book she had opened, resulting in all of the girls to get startled in the room as air thrashed around the papers that were loose. The second Natalya realized the noise that was coming from it, she slammed the book shut and glanced over at her friends with a nervous expression on her face, “…sorry.”

However, that sorry wasn’t enough to neglect the fact that there was indeed noise being heard from the chamber.

On the top story of the Tower of the Dead had been the faculty offices. Since past midnight was the witching hour, there were indeed some faculty members up working on either lesson plans or personal research on their dark magic. One of these individuals had been an older woman whose black hair was pulled into a bun, while she had been wearing comfortable attire while writing some scriptures down.

The second she had heard the wind blow, a glass ball in front of her had filled with light immediately. Her brows narrowed for a moment as she leaned over, confused as the ball was acknowledging her that there was someone awake, “Who could be awake at this time at night?” 

The Headmistress of the Tower of the Dead was a strict individual. One who also preached her teachings on the disliking of fairies, which was why when she had looked at the orb… Fairies were the last thing that had come to her mind. She had imagined that there were students awake working on their third-year research projects, which she would have slid.

But the second she had saw girls radiating positive, powerful magic… An annoyed expression formed on her face.

“…Pull up the academic records of Magix and tell me who each of these students is. _Now.”_ Evanora was fortunate to be a headmistress, which granted her all the powers to see all academic records for the students of Magix. The ball of course, glowed once more as the information was brought up in the form of the screen. There, she could see a line of names set up in addition to each of the student's ID photos and numbers.

_Florentyna Łukasiewicz._

_Monika Beilschmidt._

_Xiao Mei._

_Tatyana Laurinaitis._

_…and Natalya Arlovskaya._

“Five fairies, hm?” Evanora had leaned over with interest; a crazed look in her eye as she held her hand over the orb, “First-year Lenfia students… I wonder what they’re doing here past their curfew sneaking around my libraries,” With her hand over the orb, she had used her other hand to pull out her wand. From there, she had held the wand over the orb, “Why don’t I treat them to the Tower of the Dead’s welcome for fairies?” 

A glow came from her wand as she held it over the orb. As she did so, the end of the wand had lit up before a spark came and quickly flew out the direction of the room she was in.

The fairies, of course, had no idea that a spell had been cast in their direction. 

“Since we can’t find anything about the history of the magic dimension,” Monika began after a moment since the group had been searching for a good ten minutes now despite only giving Natalya five minutes, “Can we go now?”

“Be patient, we’ll find something,” Mei looked at the other as she was in the middle of going through books that at least had the word ‘history’ in it. But alas, despite history being in words didn’t mean it was all about the magic dimension, “We haven’t been caught yet, plus apparently from what I’m seeing…” She motioned to a stack of books, “It seems that this library has a record of every fairy in the universe.”

Hearing this caught Natalya off guard as she was in the process of reading through a book about Solis, which she had managed to find. Yet, did this library truly possess a record of every fairy?…

…Would it include her?

The book she had in hand was closed now as she approached where Mei was; looking right at the bookshelf that was in front of her. There were a lot of books, but it seemed to be in alphabetical order, “…I have no clue where my powers come from or why I’m a magical being… Do you think something about me could be in here?”  
  
“Well, you can look,” Monika looked at the other with a sigh, “But I’m giving you guys one more minute. We need to get out of here, it’s almost 2 AM.”

All she needed was a minute to search. After all, the books were all in alphabetical order that when she was told she had a minute, Natalya began searching right away. As she searched, her fingers wanted against the edges of the books as she read the titles… First the As, the Bs… There was the E’s… H’s… K… L…. M…. And N. There, she located the N’s.

Her eyes continued to look through the section. If she was supposed to find something about her, it should be in the beginning if it was alphabetical order. She searched, and soon eventually found the ‘Nat’s’ of the section. What she found though, well, she was astonished.

Then and there, there had been a book with her full name on the edge of the cover, “Holy fucking shit, there is a book about me,” She began, which immediately caught everyone in shock as they all came over to Natalya. The book was pulled out and right there, her first and last name was plastered right on the cover of it before she brought it over to a desk to look at it.

“That is just WAY too weird of a coincidence,” Mei couldn’t help but comment as she looked over the other’s shoulder, “Why would it be that easy to find?”

“…Maybe the witches were using it earlier?” Florentyna suggested as she sat down on the desk beside the one the group had been using, “To see who associates with me. They could’ve done research on all of us to be prepared to fight for my ring.”

Silence came from Mei when she heard this, but for Natalya, it didn’t make sense at all, “I think it’s weird too, you’re not alone Mei,” She reassured the other, “I don’t think the witches were doing research. What I think is that the reason it was so easy for me to find it… It is because well, me, the actual person, was looking for it. Most of these books are enchanted, right?” 

“There could be risks opening that book, Natalya,” Monika began and reached for the book, placing a hand on top of it. The book was dusty, which showed that it had been in the shelf for a few years, “Do you want me to calculate a risk-factor check for you to see if there’s any dark spell in it?” 

Natalya shook her head at the offer. As much as it probably was a good idea, why would her own book attack her? “If there is, we’ll just close the book.” She explained to the other before placing a hand on the cover, “…This book could have all the answers to everything I’ve been wondering about since I got to Lenfia… I have to look inside, it could be my only chance to figure out who I am really.” 

The cover of the book was opened now. Tatyana and Mei had braced themselves for anything to come out of it while Monika and Florentyna stared intently. The second the cover was opened…

…Nothing happened

There was nothing in the pages. Absolutely, completely nothing.

“What the hell?” Florentyna began with a pout, “What a huge suspense for nothing.”

Alas, she was wrong about that.

A bright orb had immediately burst through the book before what looked like a giant vine had grown out of the cover. The cover immediately went right at the direction of Natalya; grabbing her wrist and attempting to pull her in, “What—!?” She gasped, pulling her hand back to the vine release. That was when it happened. The book that had her name on it grew with dark power, turning into what looked like a monstrous face on the cover.

“ _I’ll destroy you little Lenfia fairies!”_ A new voice came from the book, which had everyone in the group startled, “ _You asked for it, ladies! How dare you think you can break into the Tower of the Dead without getting caught. Now, I dare you all to try and escape.”_

Loud laughter could be heard from the book which had immediately everyone beginning to back away from it. This wasn’t good at all. Nope, not at all. 

“Okay, that’s it, we’re bailing!” Monika immediately had reached for Natalya’s wrist and pulled her especially away from the book; running with the other and the other fairies to where the door was. 

They had to escape, it was too dangerous to stay now. One of the faculty members of the university - no one knew who - caught them. However, what they didn’t know was how they were caught. They were absolutely quiet… Were there cameras in the chamber? Was one of them talking too loud? Was there a witch that saw them and snitch? 

The reality was that opening one powerful book about the history of the magic dimension was the key for Headmistress Evanora to catch them in the act.

All five of them had approached the door of the chamber now while Mei had run over to reach for the handle. However, the second she had done such, the handle had immediately disappeared with had her eyes widen, “What— Where did the door go!?”

“It’s gone!” Tatyana gasped and brought her hands to her mouth, “Did the voice get rid of it?” 

Monika had been the one to approach where the door of the chamber once was and placed her hands against the surface. So far from what she could feel, it was warm, “It’s still hot,” She looked over at the group, “Someone used a dark spell to get rid of the door. We’re trapped.” 

“Shit!” Florentyna had grabbed onto her own hair, clearly frustrated, “What are we going to do?” 

“…Maybe there’s another exit?” Natalya suggested with a small shrug. The first thing she had learned from any situation she’s been in was to well, stay calm and don’t panic. That’s what the witches wanted them to see. To see the fairies panic when there was nothing to be afraid of.

Until something along the sounds of squeaking could be heard.

Her eyes slowly turned to the back of the chamber where she scanned the area. For Natalya, she didn’t see anything… But the noise began to pick up, “Um… Do any of you hear that?” Confused expressions formed on everyone’s faces, which resulted in her to shush and hold out a finger to wait.

The sounds of loud squeaking beginning to fill the room, which once they were silent, they could all hear. All of them began to look around the chamber to see if they could find its source…

…But all it took was for Tatyana to look up above them where she felt her eyes widen and face go pale.

“U-U-UP THERE! LOOK!” She had shrieked, not even caring about being quiet anymore.

The girls had looked up to see what looked like large Beatle-bugs right above them. Their eyes were yellow and mouths growing with slobber as their chirping and squeaking filled the chamber. Horror made its way to Mei and Florentyna’s face when they recognized what they were.

“R-Red eater Beatles!” Mei couldn’t help but gasp as she held out her hands instinctively. Without any warning, a protective barrier had formed around the group of girls as the bugs dropped down on them, “My realm has these! They’re extremely dangerous, one bite and you’re knocked out until you can get a healing potion on you.”

As the barrier was formed, the group had stayed close with one another while looking around. The bugs had immediately jumped on top of them, beginning to scratch through the barrier to try to get to them. Though, Mei wouldn’t let this happen as she held her hands up into the air; preventing their attacks as best as possible. 

The longer they were in the barrier, the more and more these bugs continued to go on top of them. The shield wouldn’t be a solution forever, which had been why Natalya had approached Mei, “I have an idea, but just keep the barrier up.”

Relief immediately filled Mei’s face as she nodded, “Well, any idea is better than what I have!” 

The second she was given the green light, Natalya’s eyes had closed for a moment. What if… What if she used her powers to make the barrier turn into a fire one? That way, if the bugs were to touch the barrier, they’d immediately catch on fire? 

That was the exact plan she had in mind as she approached the barrier and placed her hands against it. Soon, with focusing her energy in her mind, a bright glow had formed from the palm of her hands as this light-filled around the barrier. The bugs that were on top of them had immediately burst into flames, resulting in everyone to watch as each bug slowly disintegrated into dust. 

Seeing that this had been working had Florentyna shout, “Oh hell yeah! Look at you guys, you’re kicking ass!”

Hearing the motivation from Florentyna did help the two a lot to give them motivation. However, it seemed that despite the flame barrier is present, it only resulted in the bugs to increase. Mei could feel her hands beginning to shake in nervousness, while an irritated glare formed on Natalya’s face.

“I can’t hold it any longer,” Mei began as she turned to the rest of the group; the exhaustion clear on her face, “I don’t know what to do.”

“…We should transform,” Natalya began, continuing to hold her hands out as the flames proceeded with taking out the bugs as best as it could. If they were to transform, they could use their wings to get up into the air and attempt an escape, “Jump into the air, break a door open and run before this entire chamber fills with these bugs.”

“Hell, that’s an idea!” Florentyna began, immediately taking off her ring as everyone nodded mutually in agreement.

“ _Charmix!”_

As the chant was said in unison, a bright glow had filled the entire shield which had surprisingly backed off all of the bugs temporarily. Hissing could be heard from the bugs as the glow formed, resulting in them to go flying off into different corners of the room. It was once the glow had come into the air revealed five fairies right in the air; horrified at the sight of all of the bugs.

“This is like a horror movie gone wrong.” Tatyana couldn’t help but cover her eyes, clearly horrified by all of the bugs despite being a fairy of all nature. But knowing that they were venomous according to Mei, they weren’t nature bugs at all! She turned her head around, noticing that all of the walls in the chamber were covered in bugs, “What should we do!?”

“I’d say I’d step on all of them, but I am not stepping on them with these boots on,” Florentyna began; tossing her hair behind her as the rest of the group glared at her in annoyance, “…Sorry, too soon?”

“WAY too soon for a joke,” Monika began, flying right over to the other to glare right in her direction. Seeing that Florentyna wasn’t taking it seriously, she turned her head over to Natalya who seemed to be quite unsure of what to do, “Do we attack them?”

“Maybe we can do a fire spell, all of us, together,” Mei suggested as she looked at Natalya. She was the source of fire, after all, which meant that there could be a great chance if they combined their powers… “If we do it, we can obliterate all of these bugs easily.”

The longer they were in the air, the more bugs were starting to form and form. They needed to attack their source, but so far from what Natalya was observing, they were simply falling through the walls as if they had existed in the chamber since the very beginning. It was their mistake though to pull a stunt such as going into the chamber and pulling the trigger to get them released.

“Let’s do that,” Natalya fully agreed and turned to face the others as she flew in the air. With her hands held out, she spoke, “Take my hands and form a circle. Remember learning about convergence spells with Polonium? I’ll use my fire energy to give your guys’ power a boost, and we can blow these bugs out of existence.”

The group nodded in understanding and followed the other’s lead. Once they were in a circle, Natalya had closed her eyes and took in a breath as both of her hands glowed; showing that she was indeed focusing on her power to share amongst the others. As the power was transferred, soon the hands of each fairy began to glow brightly to indicate that the convergence was slowly beginning to take its form in the shape of power. 

_“Convergence!”_

Flames scattered around the area as each fairy had linked to one another with their power. As they flew in the air, the flames had practically spread amongst the creatures, resulting in them to disintegrate into thin air almost immediately. Since the bugs only continued to spawn, the girls had kept going with the spell until at least a majority of them were gone.

“It’s working!” Florentyna began as she opened her eyes, meeting the sight of all of the bugs bursting into flames.

“This is so disgusting…” Mei couldn’t help but to comment while glancing down below them; feeling herself gag seeing the bugs that while they burst into flames, they did release a disgusting odor, “I heard in my realm too that if you get these bugs on your clothes, their smell stays on it for a good week. Even if you use magic to get try and get it out.”

In the midst of their conversation, Natalya had begun to notice something from the corner of her eye. While the bugs were disintegrating… They weren’t fading into the air completely, yes? Where exactly were the bugs decaying forms going off to? She turned her head, noticing the mess below them from the flames. However, one thing she couldn’t help but notice was that it seemed whatever was left of the bugs was moving into one corner.

“Is it just me…” Natalya began with a bit of concern in her tone of voice, “But have we really thought where these bugs are going to after we light them on fire?” 

This was a good point being made by the girl that the rest of the group, in midst of the spell, had all looked at her. The majority of the bugs were gone now, which gave them a chance to pull their hands apart to look over in a corner of the chamber. They were all still in the air; very wary of their surroundings in suspicion of what may be going on…

…And that’s when they saw it. 

Just in front of them, as Natalya was correct in her mind, the leavings of the bugs had managed to travel all together in what seemed to be a giant ball of disgusting slime. The leftover bugs that were present stopped going after them, but immediately, joined this forming slime as it grew and grew. All it took was thirty seconds for their what was once a swarm of bugs to turn into a giant, disgusting creature in front of them.

The creature had to be at least ten feet in height compared to the girls who were present. Multiple eyeballs had been popping out of it simply at the fact that it was part of the bugs before what sounded like a loud screech came from the creature. 

“Oh come on!” Florentyna had felt her hands form into fists, “First the bugs, now this!? How much worse is this going to get?”

The last thing she had to had said was simply that. When she did, another thing that was noticed by the group was the smell of… Smoke? A strong, powerful smoke that seemed to be coming from the corner of the chamber. Then there was the heat beginning to pick up… Natalya had been the first to turn around to see flames beginning to form just feet away from them.

And it was beginning to pick up quickly.

“You just had to freaking ask, did you now?!” Monika spoke out in the midst of the silence right at Florentyna when she noticed where Natalya was staring. Of course, she was just as shocked, but she wasn’t surprised, “It was from our convergence spell. It was too powerful that some of the magic must’ve popped off from the barrier to the books.” 

“Okay well, first thing’s first,” Mei began as she looked in front of them where the horrific monster had been still screaming, “Monster, then we worry about getting out of this fire! I have an idea, just, get behind me, now!”

Not even a second had passed until the group of fairies had flown right behind Monika. From there, she had held her hands out to form what looked like a giant shield to protect them, “Use all your magic on it! If we take it down with one powerful hit, it should be good. It’s just slime too, so it shouldn’t be hard.”

Unleashing their own attacks on it - that was a fair enough thing that they could all do. Tatyana had been the one to go first, mainly out of fear as she had held out her hands instinctively. From the ground, a bright power had glowed from her hands as large vines grew immediately to wrap around the slime monster, that had already attempted to lunge at them. With her vines, it was enough to stop the attack and restrain it in place, “Go!” 

“Me next!~” Florentyna had shouted herself as the scepter in her hands was present after taking off her ring earlier. With the scepter, a bright orb had formed at the end of it before she had swung it right in the direction of the monster. This had been enough to destroy its feet and hands, making the restraint Tatyana had on him mainly being his neck and body.

Mei had immediately flown beside Florentyna while staying behind Monika’s shield. She was just as prepared with her own attack, that with her hands glowing of magic, she had held it out in the direction of the monster, “ _Sound waves!_ ” She had shouted to start the enchantment, resulting in what sounded for loud beats of a song to begin filling the room. The room shook of course, but the monster was screeching in agony now that it couldn’t even move from its restraint.

With a breath, Natalya knew that she was the last as she flew over to the direction of the monster. She had clasped her hands together quickly to form what looked like a large flame made out of ice, but alas, this was not the case. The flame grew in size in her hands as a bright glow of power filled her eyes, before quickly with one phrase, she launched the attack right at the monster, “… _freezer burn_!” 

This spell was used to simulate what it felt like touching hot ice. Alas, as the attack was made, a louder scream from the monster could be heard before its head had taken the hit. That one hit to the head was easy enough to knock the monster completely down before it faded slowly into thin air. The girls were weary, naturally at this, since they didn’t know if another monster would come… But it seemed that they were safe for now. The bigger issue at hand though was the fact that they were not only tired but the fact that the fire in the room had only begun to grow.

“Nice job with the teamwork, guys.” Monika began; lowering her hands now to bring down her shield. However, as she did so, the smoke of the fire came right in the direction of her that she had held her arms over her face to cover it. She coughed loudly in the process of it, “D-Did anyone learn any fire spells?”

All it took was that one fight with the monster to get them into this position. They should’ve focused firstly on the fire - not on the monster! Now, they were all in a situation where the fire had begun to pick up. Smaller fires with magic were easier to handle, but bigger fires such as these? They were in trouble.

“The fire’s too big!” Tatyana began as she brought her hand up to her mouth; trying to catch her breath. The more smoke there was though, the more difficult it became to breathe, “A spell won’t work!”

“What are we going to do then!?” Mei immediately shouted; flying directly down to the ground where there seemed to be an open patch. She looked around to see if the door was there for them to escape… But alas, there was still none, “We’re all going to die in here if the damn door doesn’t show up!”

Everyone panicking practically brought out the fear in Natalya’s chest. They were all right - the fire was way too big for them to manage, that she didn’t even know what to do. Let alone, it was starting to get harder to breathe with the smoke, they were all exhausted from not only fighting firebugs but a giant slime monster all of the sudden… Everything wasn’t going to plan at all, and they were going to die there if they didn’t do anything!—

_Just relax, darling. Listen to my voice, little one. Everything’s going to be okay._

That… Voice. When she was in that moment of panic, all Natalya could hear was that voice… This resulted in her mind completely draw a blank as she lowered herself to the ground while the rest of the group had been in the air. Her eyes were widened, which showed she was startled by the voice. But it only continued.

_I can save you. But you have to trust me._

What…? Natalya thought to herself, clearly confused. Who… Who was talking to her? Was it a spell? Telekinesis? 

_I want you to follow my voice…_

Follow a voice? How was she supposed to follow a voice? 

_…you know my voice, my love. And you know who I am. The one who sang to you when you cried, the one who nursed you when you needed a feeding… Think back in time, way back when you were a little baby. You are so loved by your family, you have no idea._

As the voice-only progressed in her mind, Natalya didn’t know if she was crazy or not. However, the more she listened to the voice… The more she could feel her heart beginning to sink.

_Do you remember who I am, now? Trust me, my darling. Follow my voice. Walk forward._

Despite there being large flames in front of her… That voice had managed to convince her otherwise. Where had she heard that voice… She knew that voice from somewhere, but where!? The voice said Earth, but something about that didn’t feel right to her at all. Her instincts were in full gear now as she took the steps forward directly towards the fire.

“…Uhm, Nat?” Florentyna had immediately noticed this with her eyes widened. She called the other out, but she wasn’t responding, “…Natalya? Hey, what are you doing— Stop! Why are you walking towards the fire!?”

“We have to stop her!” Monika began, which at this point, Natalya had fully walked through the flames without any sort of hesitation.

However, one thing that the group had noticed just as they were about to lower themselves to the ground, was the flames had immediately backed away from Natalya the second she had walked towards them. All of their faces were shocked, but Natalya didn’t notice this at all. Instead, she only continued walking forward.

_Don’t be scared. Come towards my voice, you know and trust me already. Keep going. At the end of this room, there’s a portal. Use your power to open it, and you will escape with your friends._

Walking through the flames, she wasn’t touched once at all. But there was one thing about the voice that Natalya noticed, and it was that it was right - there was a portal! It was disguised into the wall, so it was hard to see at first. But the portal was there in his glory that all she had to do was place her hand against it and use a little magic. With a glow from the palm of her hand, the portal had immediately opened to reveal what looked like an emergency exit that they could slide through.

“NATALYA!” Florentyna had shouted out once more, this time flying right over to the other because she didn’t care at this point. Natalya was acting crazy walking into those flames by herself… However, when she had seen the portal, her jaw dropped, “Oh… oh my—“

_You’re going to make an amazing guardian fairy one day, my sweet little girl._

Natalya’s face was expressionless at that point, minus the fact that her jaw was dropped and eyes were widened when hearing the voice. Florentyna, who had been shocked to see the portal firstly flew in front of Natalya and grabbed her shoulders to see if she was alright, “Natalya— How’d you do that?”

“…Huh, what?” Natalya began, immediately startled the second that Florentyna had grabbed onto her shoulders. This had her blink for a moment as she looked around… Where… Where was the voice? Did it leave? “What… what just happened?” 

The group had been confused hearing the sudden question from her. Did she just find a way out because she saw it? “Enough talk,” Mei began as she began moving towards the portal, “We need to get out! It’s getting hot in here and I don’t want to be cooked!” 

Seeing that they were all being pushed towards the direction of the portal, they had to go now. Natalya had been the first to jump in, followed by Mei, Floretnyna, Tatyana, and Monika at last as they all slid down what seemed to be a slide. Loud shrieking could be heard from the majority of the group as they slid down the dark tunnel, despite Natalya who seemed to still be in shock from what had happened before.

There was no time for thinking about that. Whatever that voice was, she had to worry about it later.

Alas, the end of the slide seemed to arrive very quickly as the second Natalya had been the first to reach the end, she had fallen face forward into what seemed to be… Mud? She coughed at the taste of dirt getting into her mouth, but what didn’t help though was looking up and seeing Florentyna’s rear heading right for her face, “Mother fu-“

All it took was the first fairy to pile on her before the next and the next continued to pile onto Natalya. A loud groan could be heard from her, however anytime someone landed, another fell right on top of them. The position they were in wasn’t comfortable, but it was better than being stuck in a hot chamber with fire. 

It took a moment for the group to process all that had happened, but one by one, they eventually got up from the ground to realize where they were… It - it was the underground tunnel they were in! The tunnel that had gotten them to the Tower of the Dead, which gave them a chance to sigh in relief now that they were at least able to go back to Lenfia. 

Already in time, it had been just about three AM. It was quick how the evening had taken place, but at least it was a Saturday, so they could all rest up for the weekend and take it easy. 

“So Natalya,” Monika had spoken up once they had begun walking towards the direction of Lenfia’s entrance. They had about a twenty-minute walk, but something had happened in that chamber that no one seemed to have understood, even she, “What happened back there?”

What happened… Well, Natalya didn’t even know if she had an answer to that as she walked. Her eyes gazed up ahead while she thought, “I don’t know.” She answered truthfully, “I didn’t know where I was going, but I heard this voice that told me to follow it… and this may sound crazy, but I… Knew the voice. I don’t know who it was, but I recognized the voice right away and knew I could trust it,”

“Look at the bright side,” Florentyna began as she wrapped an arm around Natalya and used a finger to lift the girl’s chin up with a smile, “Craziness is what saved us back there. So it looks like you were right to listen to it.” 

“Plus,” Tatyana had moved ahead to catch up with them, a smile on her own face as well, “We successfully completed our first mission as a team, without the need of any professors watching us with getting Florentyna’s ring back.”

That was indeed correct. For the first time for all of them, they got to take on their first group mission as a team and successfully complete it. Sure, it wasn’t that difficult of a mission - mainly the hard part is not getting caught… But despite the circumstances, they completed the objective of getting the ring back.

As for what had happened back at the chamber, no one knew at all. What was assumed was that it had been the security of the Tower of the Dead that had gone off, which it must’ve been automatic magic to attack any intruders. The reality though was that it wasn’t the case at all. 

Who had caught them was quite worse in all actuality.

The walk back to Lenfia was quick, which just like their previous procedure, the group was very quiet when walking through the entrance back into the hallway. They had one by one changed back into their human forms now and were very quiet. Their mission wasn’t quite over yet, for now, seeing that they had the part where they needed to sneak back into their rooms without posing the risk of getting caught. 

“I wish we can use magic and fly to bed…” A small yawn could be heard from Tatyana in the form of a whisper while they had all walked towards their residential hall. From there, Natalya had been the one to scan her student ID before opening the door to let them in.

“I’m so tired, that if we could use magic,” Natalya began, waiting for everyone to be inside before gently and slowly closing the door. The group now walked towards the staircase since, after all, they were all living on the third floor, “I’d make the bed fly to me and tuck me in.” 

“You guys would use magic?” Mei couldn’t help but to chuckle in a whisper as she followed the group up the stairs; rubbing her eyes in the process of doing so, “I’d pass out right here, right now.”

Quiet laughter could be heard from the group when this was said, seeing that it was indeed a very relatable thing for all of them. 

However, one of the group members had immediately stopped laughing upon turning the corner to where their room was. Tatyana who had been giggling immediately silenced herself as her face went pale upon noticing that they weren’t alone, “Uh…guys…” 

_“Ahem.”_

Hearing someone clear their throat at the end of the hall got all of them to silence immediately. Of course, no one had been paying attention, but for Tatyana all it took was the blonde hair and red glasses to catch her attention for her to know _who_ was standing in front of their suite door.

_“You all aren’t as tired as you’re going to be tomorrow,”_

All of the girls silenced right on the spot when recognizing the voice right away. Of course, the woman who had been standing in front of their door had been in her own pajamas, in addition to clearly not being in a good mood at all see that it was very early in the morning. That didn’t stop her though from stepping out to reveal herself; a dark glare being cast right at the group.

“We got a call from Headmistress Evanora from the Tower of the Dead just about an hour ago, only to tell Headmistress Radella that apparently some of her students were lingering in her library.” Were the first words that came from Glynda as she pushed her glasses up, now snapping at the girls who were horrified, “Up to the Headmistress’ office. _Now.”_

That one snap was enough for all of them to indeed turn themselves around and make their way down the stairs where they first came from. All of them knew that they were in trouble now if it was the headmistress of the Tower of the Dead to report them… So that was why she had launched the attack. Slowly, this began to make sense to Natalya and Monika while the other three were horrified for what was to come since the headmistress was punishing them for breaking them when fairies weren’t even allowed in that university.

And that headmistress was surely going to make sure they weren’t going to get away with it. So in order to make sure that they got in trouble, this headmistress did not hesitate to reach out to Lenfia to report them.

That was where it led for them at that very moment. In front of Headmistress Radella’s desk lined up with their heads down, while the headmistress had been sitting in her seat with clear disappointment on her expression. That didn’t neglect the fact too that she looked very angry as well, seeing that it was very early in the morning and they went out this late.

“We warned you, girls, day one stepping onto Lenfia’s campus,” Radella’s tone of voice was strict despite being tired, which was scary to know how such a gentlewoman could turn so harsh at them, “The Tower of the Dead is _off_ limits! Yet, you chose to ignore us, and went there this late at night!? _And_ you broke in!? Unbelievable! If there was the thing I wasn’t expecting to happen this evening, it was the fact to seeing all of you smart ladies not in front of my desk.”

The disappointment was right there in that lecture. Of course, the group indeed kept their heads down while taking on the lecture. Just hearing the disappointment in her tone of voice clearly was painful for them, but of course, Glynda had to just take it one step further, “You must be punished,” She began, looking at the headmistress beside her while her arms were crossed.

The Headmistress agreed to this statement with a nod while glaring at each girl. It was clear that she could sense the guilt in them based on how they avoided looking at her, but they couldn’t get away with this, “We cannot tolerate this kind of behavior at Lenfia College. I’m the one supposed to be training you into becoming future fairies of the magic dimension, which is why because I’m responsible for all of you, I’ll give you one chance to explain yourselves as to why—“

“—It was the witches, headmistress,” Natalya spoke up, immediately interrupting the woman mid-sentence. This had caught everyone off guard, especially since it had been Natalya the one saying it. Radella sat back, curious to hear what the girl had to say more on it, “They stole Florentyna’s ri-“

“- _IF I may,”_ Without being given a chance to explain the situation, Natalya was caught off right then and there by Glynda. This had Natalya’s face burn red in anger, clearly not appreciating at all being cut off from finishing the defense for her and her friends, “I believe under these circumstances, any explanation they give us should be deemed irrelevant for what they had done.”

Silence came from Radella as she thought. Part of her truly wanted to hear the girls out, but Glynda was right. It was unacceptable behavior, and even if they had a good reason to, it didn’t neglect the fact that she had gotten a very angry phone call from Evanora, “…I agree.” She spoke which had the group shocked right there

“In fact,” Glynda had only continued on with her proposal, “I suggest we use punishment 4D of the handbook.”

'4D'… What the hell was 4D? The majority of the group had no idea what that meant. Being restricted to Lenfia’s grounds? No going to classes? Being sent home? Suspension?… Being expelled? 

“We need to set an example to these girls, Radella,” Glynda finalized her statement by glaring right back at them, clearly still angered and annoyed, “Whatever the consequences may. be.”

“But it was the witches who were the ones who started it!” Florentyna immediately spoke up, clearly the distress in her tone of voice since she wasn’t happy about the circumstances, “If we could just have a minute to explain what’s been going on and what they’ve been doing to us, then we can get somewhere with this conversation-!”

“That’s enough, Florentyna.” The Headmistress had spoken in a clear voice now, which got her to immediately silence. It was a case that the group was in where the faculty members weren’t going to listen to them at all. It was with that, Radella had stood up from her seat and held out her hands towards in the direction of the girls where a bright power filled her hands, “Punishment 4D will do.” 

The bright glow that came from her hands had immediately filled the office. What was unexpected though was that it had hit all of them; sending the girls into a state of panic as they were lifted up into the air… But all of a sudden, they felt sleepy. Sleepy to the point that they had all fallen unconscious for that moment of time. 

“ _Powerous revokerous, suspend these fairies powers until I grant them their abilities back,_ ”

A light orb soon had come directly from each girl and went flying back directly to Radella’s chest. As the enchantment took place, no one had any idea what was going on all until she had finished the incantation. The difference hit all of them though the second they were lowered to the ground, waking up from their brief moment of unconsciousness.

Seeing that it took them all to regain focus, Radella spoke immediately to get straight to the point since she was tired, “I have suspended and revoked all your powers and magical abilities for the next forty-eight hours. In addition, you are to spend this weekend cleaning the entire university as I and Miss Glynda will be attending a conference with other faculty members in a different realm. You are expected to begin tomorrow and be done cleaning before midnight.” 

There were no ifs, ands, or buts either when it came to that statement. The woman was very clear that when the group had attempted to talk, she dismissed them right out of their office right away, leaving the group of fairies to feel… Very different, to say the least.

Or perhaps, even panicked. Having their powers removed from them was similar to losing a piece of themselves. For Natalya, this wasn’t any different for her… Since after all, she spent the majority of her life not knowing she was a magical being in the first place. All of them were silent walking back to their suite, almost in shame that this was the circumstances that the headmistress had to take.

What especially hurt was that she didn’t listen to what they had to say. The bigger part of the matter was that they broke a school rule going to the Tower of the Dead, which was even worse seeing that they did it late at night with breaking in.

Walking back into the suite, they were all tired beyond tired at that point. A light was flickered on at first so they could all drop off their belongings, meanwhile, Florentyna had approached the fridge in their room to grab a bottle of water, “…I mean… I guess we don’t get to do homework for the weekend.” 

“We can’t do anything though with our powers, Florentyna,” Tatyana spoke up as she looked at the other, a clear frown on her expression, “That’s going to be a problem. We have homework due on Monday, and we’re not going to be able to do it at all because of having no powers. We’ll be behind.” 

“I’m mainly pissed that we can’t access the network here without our magic,” Monika couldn’t help but to let out a small, annoyed huff as she approached one of the chairs in the living room to rest on, “I had plans to work on my independent projects, but now I have no database to research on…” 

The entire time the group complained about losing their powers, Natalya couldn’t feel herself relating at all. If anything, she didn’t care about losing her powers. It was for only forty-eight hours, and she had gone seventeen years of her life not having to worry about magic at all until just a few months ago.

There was a bigger matter at hand.

“You guys, I think we need to focus on the bigger picture here,” Natalya interrupted Monika and turned to face the group, who all looked at her direction now, “The witches are going to find out that we broke in and stole the ring back. And when they find out, they’re going to come straight here to Lenfia to get us…

…And we _won’t_ have our powers.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Weekend, everyone! Finally, we've made it to chapter 4. This is where all of the juicy, fun action starts to take place - including important parts of the story that'll make sense as we continue on. 
> 
> Trust me, it's going to get wild at around chapter 6-7. 
> 
> Stay tuned and thank you for reading!
> 
> Chapter 5 will be released 4/30/2020. It's almost midterm season for me, so sorry about the huge delay. 
> 
> See you soon!


	6. Grounded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m mainly pissed that we can’t access the network here without our magic,” Monika couldn’t help but to let out a small, annoyed huff as she approached one of the chairs in the living room to rest on, “I had plans to work on my independent projects, but now I have no database to research on…”
> 
> The entire time the group complained about losing their powers, Natalya couldn’t feel herself relating at all. If anything, she didn’t care about losing her powers. It was for only forty-eight hours, and she had gone seventeen years of her life not having to worry about magic at all until just a few months ago.
> 
> There was a bigger matter at hand.
> 
> “You guys, I think we need to focus on the bigger picture here,” Natalya interrupted Monika and turned to face the group, who all looked at her direction now, “The witches are going to find out that we broke in and stole the ring back. And when they find out, they’re going to come straight here to Lenfia to get us…
> 
> …And we won’t have our powers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: NSFW/NOT SAFE FOR WORK is PRESENT IN THIS CHAPTER. Please read with discretion. 
> 
> aka, don't open this up in public and read it because it is full-blown smut. 
> 
> AmeBel fans, you're welcome. 8)

_Everything was dark, yet, everything felt light. With her eyes closed, Natalya had been laying in what had looked like a dark pit. She opened her eyes to the sight of nothingness before soon she had slowly risen herself. All she could see was darkness. Nothing more than empty air._

_Looking down at herself, she noticed she wasn’t in the pajamas she had put herself in the night before either. The blue sparkling outfit, the tiara on her hair, and the grown pair of wings had been formed on her back. Everything felt so weird… It felt like she had been in a trance. But also lost, seeing that she had no idea where she was. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep before waking up to this place_

_“You don’t have to be afraid.”_

_The new voice immediately filled Natalya’s head as she looked around. Her eyes widened, clearly, a bit startled seeing that she couldn’t see anything, “Who’s there!?”_

_“It’s me, my baby girl… Don’t you remember me? Don’t you know my voice?”_

_It was such a strange question… The voice… Who’s voice was it? She swore she had heard it before in a dream, but she couldn’t think of anyone in person that had this voice. It was a soothing voice, that despite being a bit startled at the moment, Natalya felt calm rather than nervous. That was when she realized it, “You… You’re the voice who helped me escape from the Tower of the Dead, aren’t you? But who are you?”_

_“I need you to come to me. Find me.”_

_“Find you?” Natalya had flown upward and looked around, still unable to see anything at all. Where was the voice coming from? How was she supposed to find it if she couldn’t see it? “How?!”_

_“Look within your heart. You know the answer. Your home, my darling. Your true home.”_

_As the voice continued, what felt like a breeze of cool air had brushed against her back. Natalya shot her head immediately behind her, which was where she had been greeted to bright light. The light had been so bright that she had brought her hands up to her eyes, groaning slightly since she couldn’t see after being in darkness for a long time. Though as her vision came into focus, that was when she saw it._

_A golden figure… No, it was a beautiful woman who had been looking down at her. She couldn’t tell who the face was seeing that was bright, though what Natalya could make out from it was that the individual was tall, had beautiful long blonde hair, and radiated with powerful magic. The hard part about it had been she was wearing a mask over her eyes, which made it even harder for Natalya to see who it was. Wind flowed around her as the powerful figure looked down at the fairy._

“ _You will find me when you remember who you are. Your destiny for continuing our family’s legacy awaits you.”_

_“What you mean, remember? Remember what?” Natalya had shouted, lowering her arms now to get a better glance at the glowing figure. This question though was soon answered with the woman holding out her hand to her, which caught her off guard once more._

_“Take my hand… And prepare for the journey of finding what was once lost seventeen years ago, to be found again.”_

* * *

“ _What do I have to remember_!?”

A loud gasp had come from Natalya as she had shot up from her bed and clutched onto her chest. Her eyes were widened, clearly startled from the dream she had. She looked around to make sure this wasn’t any sort of illusion, but when seeing Tatyana staring at her bed in confusion as to why Natalya had woken up so scared, she knew this wasn’t a dream anymore.

“For starters… That it’s Saturday and we have to clean the college today, remember?” Tatyana looked at the other while she seemed to have been drinking a cup of tea. Based on the look on her face, it was clear that she was giggling at the other.

Natalya sighed heavily and laid immediately back down on her bed; staring right up at the ceiling in confusion. What kind of dream was that? It was, all of the sudden… One of the very first dreams that she’s had in a very long time that made her unsure of how to react, “…Tatyana? Was I talking in my sleep?”

“You have no idea,” Tatyana began with a nod before lowering her tea onto her nightstand. Well, great. How embarrassing that must’ve been, Natalya thought to herself, “‘Look within, ‘what’s my destiny’, ‘who are you’, those sort of things.”

A sigh escaped from Natalya while she crossed her arms. So she really was going through something insane, “I just had the craziest dream,” She began and turned her head over to the other, “One that I don’t even know how to explain.”

“Well, don’t worry about that now. You’re safe here in your room at Lenfia,” There was a small smile on Tatyana’s face as she looked down, soon beginning to put on some shoes since despite it being the morning, it was the day they were supposed to be doing their punishment, “You should get up. We’re supposed to be in Glynda’s office in the next twenty minutes.

Next twenty-minutes!? Why hadn’t anyone woken her up sooner? Natalya had immediately crawled herself out of bed, rushing to her closet of the room quickly first before rushing to the bathroom, “Give me ten minutes, we’ll all walk together,” She began, leaving a confused Tatyana standing in their room as she went to get herself dressed in the bathroom.

Despite having a bit of an expected morning from her dream, this did not neglect the fact that the girls were grounded. Just as it was decided very late yesterday evening, for their punishment, they are to be expected to clean up the entire university while faculty had been attending a conference in another realm. In addition, they had lost their powers temporarily, which meant they were all in a position of being normal humans.

Losing her powers though didn’t phase Natalya at all. After all, the majority of her life was spent as a normal human. 

She eventually finished getting dressed and dealing with making herself look at least presentable to see the head of discipline before stepping out of her room to meet with the rest of the group near the entrance. Clearly, no one was looking forward to the punishment. It was cleaning an entire university with no magic… It was going to take the entire day to finish i

But there was nothing they could do. All they did was accept their fates as the group walked from the first-year dorms to the academics building, where Glynda had been waiting at the top level of the building to give them their assignments for the day. 

All it took was one knock before the older blonde had let the five girls in. No one looked happy at all to be there, especially seeing that they had to be dealing with Glynda. While the woman looked intelligent, she was very strict and serious when it came to discipline.

“Good morning,” The taller woman began, which she immediately received silence from the girls. She cleared her throat, now glaring at each of them before speaking in a louder tone, “ _Good morning, ladies.”_

_“Good morning, Miss Glynda.”_ All of them had said in panicked unison. 

Clearly, not paying attention to someone like Glynda was a bad idea. Seeing that she had an annoyed expression on her face, no one could expect anything from her seeing how she was the one who purposed they get their powers revoked and to clean the entire university, “As a reminder from last night,” She began, “Your punishment begins today and will last the entire weekend. You are not allowed to leave the campus, you must clean the entire campus, and you will be having your magical abilities suspended until further notice.” 

This was what the entire group already knew. The reminder though only kept their heads down as Glynda proceeded with the explanation. However, what came next was just the beginning of shocking

“In addition,” The woman spoke in a clear tone which was shocking because no one didn’t expect to think of another punishment, “Magix has invited all of the students of Lenfia to attend an educational concert in the town square. A few… Idols, performing, that is.”

Idols? Natalya couldn’t help but notice the shocked expressions that came from the group. What was the big deal about missing a concert with idols? 

“…do we get to at least ask who the idols are?” Mei couldn’t help but speak in a low tone, since for her especially, going to concerts and music was her entire life as a fairy. 

“…Ah, what was it…” Glynda reached over for what looked like a tablet, where her emails had been opened. She had pressed a button to open the invitation sent to Lenfia faculty to read the information, “…T…Team Tokken’, is the name.”

“Aw, man!” Florentyna pouted when she heard this, clearly upset to hear that was the case, “I have every CD of theirs! Can’t we make a compromise, Miss G? We finish cleaning the university and we can at least go to the concert!?”

A large smirk had formed on Glynda’s lips seeing the disappointment in the group's eyes. Just what she liked seeing. Instead of answering the question at first, she had clapped her hands before what looked like brooms, mops, and other cleaning supplies had formed in from of the girls. It came out of nowhere, but she further explained her point, “No. You and no one else will be allowed to go as part of the punishment. That means the entire university will be completely empty while students attend this concert and faculty are at the conference. This also means you are all expected to scrub the entire university, from the basements to the top of the ceiling.” 

This punishment was no joke at all. The headmistress and Glynda had fully planned this out for the girls and purposely told them about the concert for a reason. 

“Pardon me, ma’am,” Monika spoke up as she had already grabbed one of the brooms. It was clear that they had work to do, so better not waste any time, “But what buildings are empty now that we can go to? You said everyone’s not leaving towards the evening, and I’d rather no one be in our way if we’re cleaning.” 

This was a very interesting question to come from Monika. Not surprising at all to Glynda before she had thought for a moment, “You can all start at the entrance of the university and the auditorium. Everyone should be gone by two o’clock this afternoon. Maybe if you all put your heads together, you could consider splitting up the work in groups so it gets done quicker.”

Giving this advice was her way of suggesting an idea. Yes, it was a lot of work to clean an entire university with thousands of students… But she would hope that without magic, these girls would at least learn something without the use of their powers. 

“Now…” Glynda glared right at the girls, watching as they all picked up one by one either a broom, mop, or bucket full of cleaning supplies, “Get to it. I’ll check in later on before I have to leave with the headmistress for a status report.” 

Being dismissed from that office with all the cleaning supplies was something that all of the girls were not looking forward to spending the day carrying around. To top it all off, Glynda just had to tease them by mentioning the concert that all Lenfia fairies were invited too…

…Could the day get any worse? 

If they were to get through this quickly, the group had established a plan on how they were to clean the school. There were plenty of lecture halls and rooms to clean, which meant the easiest way to do it was to split the work amongst all of them. Natalya, Florentyna, and Mei would take on the lecture halls in the first floor while Monika and Tatyana would handle the lecture halls on the second floor. It was a good strategy that once they all agreed, they all split with their cleaning equipment.

Cleaning wasn’t a problem at all for Natalya. If anything, she had been used to cleaning back on Earth when she had to either do her chores or clean her room. She had taken on mopping the ground while Mei cleaned the windows and Florentyna handled wiping down the desks.

However, for Florentyna with being a princess… Cleaning was not in her expertise at all. When being told to clean each desk with what looked like a rag, she stared at it for a moment, picked it up and wiped each desk quickly before taking out her phone. It was all so quick when she did this, that even Natalya who had just pulled in a bucket of water to start mopping immediately glared at the other.

“Florentyna, what does h-e-l-p spell out?” Natalya began, already dipping her mop into the bucket.

Florentyna glanced over at the other with her brows raised, a bit confused on what the other had been referring to, “Uh… That spells ‘help’.”

“Exactly.” The mop was placed into the bucket to be left alone so it could soak in the soap. Natalya took this as her chance to pick up the rag that Florentyna had left and thrown it right at her direction to land into her lap, getting the girl to shriek just a tad while Mei laughed watching this, “This is kind of your fault too.”

“My fault!?” Florentyna pouted as she picked up the rag, “What do you mean?”  
  
“Well…” Mei had already had gloves on and been carrying a bottle of disinfecting spray, as well as a towel to wipe down the windows, “If you didn’t open your mouth to Glynda and the headmistress, we’d probably be able to go to the concert.” 

Talking back was one thing that seemed to be a common specialty of Florentyna’s. Not just in a way of defending herself, but it could be shown as disrespectful too. Yes, the circumstances were truly unfair, but there was nothing the girls could do other than respecting the faculty members, “Are you saying we’re here because I spoke the truth?”  
  
“It sucks, but we can’t do anything. You heard what they said, and if we want to get our powersback, the first thing we have to do is get our work done,” Natalya snapped at the other, which indeed got Florentyna startled since she had never seen the other so serious, “Now pick up a rag and start cleaning.”

“Can’t.” Florentyna immediately insisted, “I’ll get blisters.” 

“…Wear gloves?” Mei tilted her head over at the other, clearly a bit surprised to hear such a change of behavior from Florentyna, “Come on, if we do this all together, we’ll all get out of this quickly. Just because you’re a princess doesn’t mean you get out of punishments. It’s unfair.”

Arguing was what took place between the three girls when it came to Florentyna’s behavior. Seeing that she wouldn’t agree with the compromise, it only led them to try to convince the other to at least maybe sweep around the corridors. Meanwhile, the three were in their small dispute, Tatyana and Monika had already been close to finishing the first lecture hall.

The tasks that they had were split among them evenly. Tatyana would handle the mopping and desks, all while Monika would handle taking out the trash, cleaning the windows, and the chalkboard. The two chatted amongst themselves as they cleaned, not really having a problem with it at all until something managed to catch Monika’s attention.

On top of every classroom was a light. A chandelier in specific terms, that made her wonder if he had collected dust over the last few weeks. She knew that Glynda was being awfully strict on them with the cleaning and their punishment, which had Monika look over at Tatyana who was in the middle of wiping down the last few desks, “Hey, should we clean that light up there?”

“The light?…” Upon hearing this, Tatyana had glanced up for a moment and noticed the chandelier the other had been talking about. The same idea came to mind about how it could be dusty, but her concern was how they didn’t have a ladder nor did they have a way to reach up there, “How? We have no magic to reach it.”

That was a very fair point that Monika agreed with… But with her being interested in technology and engineering, she had an idea, “Watch.” The broom that was in her hand was picked up where she had taken one of the dusters they had used earlier. What she had noticed was an opening in the end of the duster, where she had stuck the end of the broom into before holding it into the air that barely touched the chandelier, “Tada.”

“Please be careful,” Tatyana began, watching the other as she began to move so the duster at least cleaned the light a bit, “That’s glass, you know.”

“Relax. The last thing I want to do is shatter it and get an invoice in my name to pay for damages,” Monika reassured the other. Though naturally, Tatyana’s anxiety was to the roof that she couldn’t even finish cleaning down the tables. Monika was quick with her actions, that soon she had pulled back her arms to indicate she was finished cleaning it, “There. That wasn’t so bad, right?”

It wasn’t so bad… Yes, Monika was indeed correct, but also the fact that there was glass right above them did not bring any comfort to her at all, “Okay, you were right. Let’s just finish this room so we can get to the next lecture hall,” 

“Sounds like a good plan,” Finishing the cleaning was on everyone’s mind at that moment. If Glynda or even the headmistress were to walk in, the administrators had to see them clean. It was all part of the punishment that if they did good enough, there was a chance they could get their powers back.

Having no powers was a very different experience for four out of the five of them. Having to maneuver and use their heads to figure out cleaning tasks when in the past, all they had to do was wave their hands and the cleaning supplies would start to do the work itself. Now, they had to actually use their bodies and get the work done. 

There was only one concern though with having no magic. The previous evening after the punishment was executed, everything seemed to be fine… Except for Natalya’s concern. Yes, they were able to break into the Tower of the Dead and steal the ring back. But how long would it be until the witches were to find out? 

Let alone, would they now be safe without their powers?

* * *

The witches weren’t stupid at all. Quite smart for getting accepted and being students at the Tower of the Dead. Their arrival back to their dorm and hearing around that fairies had broken into the school was indeed suspicious. However, it was when Gelinda had walked to her side of the room and noticed the ring was gone, everything made sense. 

She knew exactly who the fairies were that broke in.

“Those little fairies had the _nerve_ to sneak onto our turf?” Beside Gelinda, both Aviana and Nebula had been sitting in their own seats with breakfast in front of them. The three witches had been sitting in the dining hall of the university; eating after a long night of conducting research on the dragon flame and heart of ice. Despite being tired, Gelinda most certainly was the angriest of the group, “And we just… Let them get away!”

“A real witch wouldn’t let an offense such as that go unpunished,” Aviana had spoken while in her hand, she had been holding onto a cup of tea. She took a sip out of it as the other two witches glanced over at her direction, “And we’re not going to let it go that easily.”

Hearing these words had a large smirk form on Gelinda’s face. Yes… She was right about that. Those fairies wouldn’t get away with the stunt they pulled. It was an amazing execution; breaking in when they weren’t around, it was smart, she had to admit. But she wouldn’t let them get away with it so easily, “Since… The powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice clearly isn’t in Florentyna’s ring,” Her tone of voice was much calmer when hearing the original idea of getting revenge, “We’ll go find the true source of its power.”

“…Uhm, newsflash Gelinda,” Nebula took a bite out of her toast, “We don’t know where the hell the source is if it isn’t the ring.”

“You’re wrong.” Gelinda interrupted the other, which had both of the other two witches intrigued. Now, this was a surprise to them, “Don’t you remember what we researched? The last guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice is an alumnus of Lenfia. She graduated, met the King of Sparx, they got married, rest is history. _That_ means there could be something at Lenfia that can give us a clue to where the Queen could’ve hidden the power. The power was trained on that campus, so surely there has to be something.”

The smirk only grew more and more Gelinda thought of it. Yes… It would make sense. For a place where the former guardian fairy went to school, only for a piece of her to still possibly exist in the school. She knew she could be completely wrong, but it didn’t hurt to at least check.

It was just as she was about to continue with her proposal of a plan, a loudspeaker had turned on in the auditorium that had managed to catch everyone’s attention.

“ _Good morning, witches.”_ The familiar voice of the headmistress had filled not only the dining hall but all parts of the tower so that every student could hear, “ _I am here to announce an update on our fundraiser for monsters. Unfortunately, it has been brought to my attention that those disgusting fairies at Lenfia had been invited to attend an idol concert at Magix Stadium this evening, which means we’ll have to postpone the fundraiser until the stadium is opened up. So plan accordingly._ ” 

_Click._

That was it. It was almost as if fate was in her favor that Gelinda had stood up from her seat and looked at the other two witches, “Tonight’s our night. With their whole school empty going to this concert, it’ll be ours to break in and do some research.” 

With no one in the school, they could be able to sneak around freely. Perhaps this could give them a chance too to locate the ring. Despite it being useless to them at that point, they could keep it for potential other uses of power.

Nebula and Aviana exchanged glances at each other seeing the sudden change of behavior from Gelinda. If this was what she believed they should do, the two wouldn’t question it as they instead, nodded in agreement and proceeded to continue on with eating their breakfast. 

* * *

The concern of the witches finding out still lingered in Natalya’s mind the entire time they continued to clean.Having no powers to defend themselves other than cleaning tools to fight, what were they going to do? Maybe it wasn’t the best time to be so worried about it since after all, they had to be on their best behavior if they wanted to get their powers back in the first place. 

The cleaning was absolutely ridiculous to her. Seeing that Florentyna wasn’t bulging to help, Natalya had taken on the task of wiping down the desks while the other could handle mopping since it didn’t require her ‘nails getting wet’ and ‘risking one of her acrylic nails to break’. Arguing for them only took more time out of their day, especially since while Monika and Tatyana had already gotten three lecture halls done, Mei, Natalya, and Florentyna were still in the first room. 

“You guys are still cleaning?” 

The three girls had looked up from their spots to see Monika and Tatyana standing at the door with their supplies. What looked like embarrassment filled Natalya’s expression while Mei and Florentyna continued to clean.

“We may or may have not had a bit of a dispute with ‘I can’t clean or else I’ll get blisters’,” Mei began in a mocking tone to imitate Florentyna, “But we figured it out. We’re almost done here anyway so we’ll move onto the next room.”

“At least let us help you guys out,” Tatyana insisted as she put her broom down, this time reaching for what seemed to be a second mop near Florentyna as she picked it up, “The sooner we can all get this done as a team, the sooner we can all relax.”

“Hey, relaxing sounds amazing right now,” Natalya couldn’t help but to comment as she finished up her task of getting the last few desks disinfected and clean. 

Having the help and supporting one another was key to getting that lecture hall clean. It wasn’t that big of a hall, but with half of the time is spent arguing with Florentyna to at least help put them at risk of delay from getting the chance to relax. The group had thought too that at least one of the administrators would come by to check on them, but all it took was once glance out the window for Natalya to notice busses already on Lenfia’s campus to load up students for the concert.

Then there were the busses for the administrators who were going to the conference… That was the sign right there that the girls were all going to be alone at the school for the next few hours.

Had they really wasted an entire morning arguing with Florentyna? Maybe that was why she was starving… Not having a chance to eat lunch, but instead so focused on wanting to get the work done so they wouldn’t have to worry about it later.

“Looks like it’s just us,” Natalya began while glancing out the window, which managed to catch Mei and Monika’s attention as they approached the girl to lookout as well. There, the three could see the busses beginning to leave, “And this school we need to clean… Nothing else.”

Nothing else seemed absolutely boring to Florentyna, who already had finished mopping thanks to Tatyana’s help. Though, hearing these words from Natalya had her pause for a moment since she had remembered something from the previous night. Just before they had all gone to bed for their small mission, something else was planned, “Uh, Natalya. Didn’t you say you had a date with Alfred tonight?”

Hearing this reminder had Natalya who was once calm, feel her entire body go numb and jaw drop in horror. That was right… She was supposed to be going on a date with Alfred! And there she was stuck with no powers and cleaning duty. She wondered if the students at UHB were also being invited to the concert, which had her look over at Florentyna in panic, “I- I completely forgot. How the hell am I supposed to tell him I can’t go out because we’re stuck on cleaning duty. And he was looking forward to this date too, fuck-!”

The response that came from Natalya showed that she felt bad. Truly, she never considered herself to be the type of person to be in situations such as this one…. But this date was something that she had been looking forward to as well. The distraught on her expression was indeed acknowledged by her friends who felt for her…

…Except for Mei, who had an idea.

“…Why don't you just invite him here?” Mei suggested, which seemed to have broken the negative spirit out of Natalya, “Him and Gilbert. We can explain we fucked up, but I’m sure if we have the extra hands, we can get this cleaning done faster and you guys can go on your date.”  


“…Date… It was more of just getting pizza and hanging out, actually.” Natalya admitted, now bringing a hand to the back of her head nervously since it was true. She was supposed to go to Alfred’s dorm at UHB and they were going to spend the time alone together.

“Nah, that’s so boring. I have a better idea!” Florentyna began and placed her mop back into the bucket, “We’ll ring the guys up. I think it’s a great idea to have them come by and help out, and I’m sure they won’t say no to us. Plus, if we get all this cleaning done, we can throw a party.” 

“…And what if Glynda finds out we had guys here when we’re technically ‘grounded’?” Monika interrupted with her eyes narrowed; clearly in a position of where she didn’t want to get in even more trouble, “That screams a bad idea all around.”

“Nonsense, you’re overreacting,” Florentyna reached over and placed a hand on Monika’s shoulder to give it a reassuring pat, “Listen, Miss G said we can’t leave. She didn’t say we couldn’t have anyone over to help us clean, now did she?”

This had everyone go silent in the room. Florentyna was right… Glynda had said they weren’t allowed to leave or use their powers, only clean. But there was nothing about inviting a few friends from UHB to help them out. All faculty and students would be gone for the night as well, which meant no one would know. 

“All we’d have to do is make sure the guys leave by the morning. Easy peasy,” Florentyna explained, “We need heroics and bravery students to help damsels in distress.”

“Well… What are you waiting for?” Tatyana smiled in agreement. It seemed to be a good idea; to all hangout and maybe throw a small party to celebrate that they had finished cleaning the school. She looked over at Natalya, “You should call Alfred and let them know. I’m pretty sure the invitation to the concert was sent to students at UHB too, which means Alfred would have to stop Gilbert from going.” 

That was right. While she and Alfred had made plans of staying inside together, there was that risk of his friends going out to the concert… Maybe Alfred would try suggesting they go to the concert together. But she hadn’t told him yet that technically she was grounded and couldn’t leave Lenfia.

Which when she did make that phone call, it was probably one of the awkwardest things to tell one’s boyfriend.

“… _You guys are grounded?_ ” Alfred’s voice came from the speaker to allow the group of girls to hear. Natalya had held her phone out, of course, clearly embarrassed by the situation… But Alfred didn’t find it embarrassing at all, “That’s… Actually amazing? Listen, if I was grounded and I knew everyone would be gone for the entire night, that’s just a chance to do things and get away with it.”

“See!” Florentyna agreed with the other’s statement while she rested her head on Natalya’s shoulder, “So will you come by to help out?”  


“I don’t see why not,” Alfred began in response. He had been in the middle of doing some homework, but since getting Natalya’s call, he had dropped it all at an instant, “I’ll see if I can get Gil to come too. I’m sure he’d be down for a party than a concert.” 

“Great!” Mei followed-up before grabbing the phone with a smirk drawn to her lips, “And don’t worry, we’ll let you have your date with Natalya too. Get her all nice and dolled up for you too.”

“What.” Natalya choked on her breathing.

Despite it all, her friends only continued to do the talking for the blonde who clearly wasn’t happy at all after hearing such a statement. Even Florentyna had grabbed the phone now to properly end it all, “OkaycooltalktoyoulaterAlfredByeeee!”

_Click._

The phone in his hand went completely dark after the phone call had come to an end. Alfred… Rightfully so, was indeed confused. But what could he really do? He was expecting a phone call from Natalya, and while it was her first, it seemed that her friends had bigger plans for them. Sure, he would have loved to had proceeded with the plan on spending time alone with Natalya, but he was sure that he’d be able to get it there during this small ‘party’ they planned to throw. 

The next step for him though was to convince Gilbert to come with him. Then, that would guarantee a good party since he especially knew how the other loved any college parties. 

During the midst of waiting for the guys to arrive, that didn’t stop the girls from continuing to clean. There were still technically other parts of the university that they had to clean minus the lecture halls. These other buildings including the dining hall, the kitchen, and the bathrooms which already Florentyna had heavily emphasized that she did not want any involvement with it.

The next part of the cleaning that the group mutually agreed to split on was the dining hall. It was one of the second largest buildings in the school minus the auditorium, which led for half of them to focus on mopping the floors while the other half focused on cleaning the tables. 

It was perfect timing for them as well, seeing that Alfred had successfully managed to convince Gilbert to come with him to the small get together the girls were having. Hanging out with friends sounded much more fun than going to a concert, which was what led to a mutual agreement. 

Lights filled the empty campus of Lenfia by the time the men had arrived. It was just around sunset, which was perfect timing seeing that a majority of Magix was going to be at the idol concert. All it took was for one text from Alfred to Natalya to let them know that they had arrived before it was she and Florentyna who had gone outside to greet them. 

Compared to the heroic uniforms that they usually wore, this time, the men seemed to be wearing much more casual clothing for their age. One thing that managed to catch Natalya’s eye though was seeing that while Gilbert came more casually, Alfred… Came looking a bit nicer. Maybe it was the nice shirt or combed hair that was different but to say the least, she liked it as she greeted her partner with a kiss on the cheek.

“You guys came hella fast,” Florentyna began while her eyes turned over to the motorcycles they had used to bring themselves to the campus. That was the thing about boys from UHB - they got to use fighting and battle gear that no one else got to use, including motorcycles that had power in it.

“To be honest, I don’t even know this idol that’s going on at Magix,” Gilbert explained while crawling off his bike. In his pocket, he had pulled out a pair of keys before turning off the bike to lock it properly, “Figured may as well go to a party where I can actually drink on a Saturday night.”

“Noowwww we’re talking!” Florentyna gave a bit of a smirk hearing the mentioning of drinks. 

The college experience wouldn’t be complete if there wasn’t any alcohol involved. Natalya learned this the hard way too when she had walked in one day and saw Florentyna bringing in some liquor she had bought… It made her realize how vastly different the age difference was to purchase alcohol in the magic dimension. On Earth in America, she knew it was 21. In Russia, it was 18. In the magic dimension? It was 16. 

Regardless, while Gilbert and Florentyna had been in the middle of their conversation of having drinks, Alfred and Natalya stood there listening with a bit of amusement brought to their faces. Alfred mainly not surprised to hear these words from Gilbert while Natalya had been shocked they planned on drinking in the first place when technically, there was still work to be done tomorrow with cleaning. 

“Something tells me that Florentyna had this planned from the start,” Natalya couldn’t help but to mutter under her breath while crossing her arms; her rear resting on Alfred’s motorcycle before she looked up at the other. That’s right. They were supposed to be on a date, “Sorry about our date…” 

Hearing the apology came out of nowhere for Alfred. If anything, he hadn’t been expecting at all to hear it from Natalya, since she didn’t seem to be the type of person to apologize anytime, “What are you talkin’ about, babe?” He began, “We still get to do it. But I’d like to at least know how the heck you guys got in this much trouble with having to clean an entire college.”

“It’s… A long story,” A long story that she didn’t mind telling him as the four walked over to the dining hall of the campus. As they did, the couple walked hand-in-hand. Alfred mainly had been staring at her out of admiration while Natalya focused up ahead, “For a while, these witches from the Tower of the Dead have been after Florentyna’s ring for some reason… And well, the day of the dance on Lenfia, they stole the ring. So we ultimately made the decision to break into the Tower and get the ring back.”

Alfred’s expression became a bit serious upon hearing the mentioning that she had been part of a plan to sneak into the University of Dark Arts. The Tower of the Dead was a place where no fairy should ever go… After all, he’s already heard all of the horror stories about how witches and warlocks hated fairies religiously, “Nat… Don’t do that ever again, seriously,” He began with a sigh, which indeed had Natalya look over at the other with confusion, “I mean, I just…. I don’t want you to get hurt. Those witches are just, batshit insane.”

“Oh really?” There was a bit of sarcasm to her tone of voice when she said this, which was an indicator to the older male that she was very well aware of how crazy the witches were, “I was doing a bit of research on Florentyna’s ring, and my hypothesis is that they’re after this power called the dragon flame and heart of ice, because rumor has it that her ring was created by it centuries ago. So we got the ring back, all was well… Until I guess someone saw us and snitched.”

Right…. The truth was, no one saw them. She was the dumbass who had to just pick up a book that had her name on it, triggering a spell for the headmistress of the Tower to get a security notification that they were there. 

“So what happened after that?” Alfred continued to listen to the other. Part of him was intrigued and concerned, but also… Breaking into such a scary place, he had a lot of respect for the girls. Let alone, the fact that Natalya had done research before this mission showed that she knew what she was doing. And doing the research before a mission was something he was currently learning now as a second year at UHB! “You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“No no,” Natalya shook her head before approaching the door of the dining hall. Gilbert had been holding onto it, which she gave a brief nod of thanks to acknowledging it before she turned to the other, “Something weird happened though… A voice called out to me, we were able to break out of there and get back to Lenfia…. But I guess the headmistress over at the Tower decided to report us and here we are, less than twenty-four hours later… With our powers being suspended and having to clean up the entire university.”

Powers being suspended? This didn’t sound right at all to Alfred as he let her walk into the dining room and held the door for her, “Powers suspended? You mean, you don’t have your powers?” 

“I do,” Natalya reassured the other once more after walking inside to which the couple had been greeted to some music playing while everyone was still mopping, “But they’re suspended, so I can’t use them at all… I guess you can say they were revoked, so I’m technically an ordinary human being.” 

An ordinary human being… Alfred didn’t think that at all as he reached over to place a hand on her head after the door was closed. Natalya of course naturally was caught off guard as she looked up at the taller male with confusion brought to her expression, “Nah, I wouldn’t say a regular human being for you,” He began, “You’re unique. You didn’t know you had powers until just a few months ago, so you understand that life of what it’s like to not have powers, and I admire that a lot.”

“You can say that again, Alfred!” Monika, who had been in the middle of handing Gilbert a mop while carrying a bucket of water had stepped over to the middle of the room. This definitely had caught Natalya and Alfred’s attention as they looked over to look at the short-haired blonde, “It’s been less than a day since I lost my powers and I don’t even know what to do, then there’s Natalya who’s acting like it’s not a problem at all.” 

“I agree,” Mei let out a small sigh before sitting down on one of the dining hall chairs for a break. In her hand, she had been holding onto some cleaning rags since she already had finished her portion of cleaning on one side of the dining hall, so already she had begun to work on cleaning the tables, “If I had my powers, I would’ve already had this entire school’s floors mopped clean.”

“Well, we can’t do anything about that, now can we?” Natalya reached over to remove the hand from her head; placing a small kiss against Alfred’s hand before walking over to the group to pick up the mop she had left previously since she had walked out with Florentyna to go retrieve the boys, “Now that you guys are here, I’m sure you know how to handle cleaning, right?”

“Duh,” Gilbert began with a nod while already he was dipping his mop into a bucket, “Alfred doesn’t though—“ The second he had said this, Alfred’s eyes had widened as he shook his head in a panic for the other to not finish that statement. That’s when he realized… Alfred hadn’t told anything to Natalya at all. Which meant no one in the group knew about who he was… “I mean, he does, but I’m sure you guys can give him some pointers.” 

This brought a bit of amusement to Natalya’s expression hear the callout from Gilbert. So Alfred was the messier type… She chuckled at the thought and reached over for another mop to toss over to the other. 

Alfred mainly had been trying to catch himself from being startled, because he wasn’t ready yet to let Natalya know the truth. Oh no, he couldn’t even think of how she’d react the second he told her she was a prince, “Haha… I mean, uh, yeah,” He responded, noticing the mop that was being tossed over as he caught it with one hand. That was part of the deal. If they were going to throw a party, they would have to do some cleaning together before they could really relax and have some fun.

“Alrighty then,” Tatyana smiled at the scene and picked up some rags. She already had finished mopping her side of the dining hall and began to work on the tables, “Now let’s get this cleaning over with so we can at least have some fun.”

That was a good motivator for all of them to start cleaning then and there. After all, the majority of both their schools were off at a concert, so why couldn’t they have a bit of fun themselves? Even having some fun with cleaning? 

The fun with cleaning though wasn’t that extreme. Mainly it had consisted of the group talking and joking with one another, in addition to the occasional sword-fighting breaking out with mops just for fun. Earlier that day it was indeed a bit boring with having to be separated from the cleaning, but now that everyone was able to be together during a time of punishment, it wasn’t so bad at all.

If anything, Natalya still truly felt bad about the whole date… She was looking forward to spending an evening with Alfred, which made her wonder if there was a way she could make it up to him. For Alfred, that didn’t seem to be the case at all. Especially throughout the cleaning process of the dining hall, they were talking normally as any couple would, with the occasional flirting from Alfred and her sarcasm coming right back at him. 

But, Alfred held himself back from the flirting. Not with everyone around, there were definitely more things that he would have loved to say to Natalya behind closed doors… Mainly how firstly beautiful she looked despite cleaning, but also how part of him wouldn’t be mad if, after the cleaning, he could watch her change from those clothes…

…He didn’t know if he was starting to sound like a pervert in his head, but goodness, he was very attracted to her. It was completely normal for any guy who was in love and in a relationship, after all.

The cleaning process ultimately took about two hours for the group to finish. They had completed cleaning everything in the dining hall before ten o’clock, which gave them all enough time to prepare for a small party by ordering pizza, getting some drinks and snacks together, as well as allowing for the girls to change from their clothing seeing that they were all working since earlier that morning. 

It was also the first time for the group of girls to have anyone up in their suite. The boys naturally were surprised to see how large the suite was, but for five people, it completely made sense as they all walked in after putting away the cleaning supplies. Even though they were going to party for now, the girls unfortunately still had work to complete tomorrow that they couldn’t neglect at all. 

But that was for tomorrow. Right now, it was time to have some fun.

One by one, each girl had gotten dressed in attire that was more suited for having fun. Nothing extreme was planned for the party other than music, drinks, and some video games seeing that after all, Monika was very heavily involved in technology and two of the biggest nerds, as Florentyna liked to describe them, were there as well. 

Florentyna naturally had gone full-out for this party. While individuals such as Monika, Mei, and Tatyana had chosen the route of casual clothing with their t-shirts, jeans, or dresses, the woman had a yellow crop-top on, a jacket, a skirt, some boots, and some make-up. The thing was that she wasn’t going to let Natalya mess up too with going to a party.

Seeing what Natalya was originally going to change into, which was what looked like pajamas to her, wasn’t acceptable at all on Florentyna’s book. So instead, she had helped Natalya put on a white crop-top with black short overalls, as well as had her hair pulled halfway back with a barrette with her bangs in front so at least she looked nice.

And Florentyna’s plan on getting Natalya dressed much nicer seemed to have been a success seeing the reaction from Alfred when she had stepped out of the bedroom. Natalya wasn’t used to wearing a bit if exposing clothing, but based on the way Alfred looked at her, she felt as though that it was a good idea because he staring. Staring right at her face, her chest, her legs…. All until Gilbert had been the one to knock him off with a bottle of beer being handed to him.

“Now with any party, let’s get ourselves started with some music~” Mei had begun as she pulled out a radio that she had kept in her room. 

Naturally, with being the fairy of music, she already knew almost every song that was produced in the magic dimension. She looked along with her list of music through her player before choosing one that was more upbeat, all while Tatyana was off adjusting the lights in the room so they were dimmer.

Music filled the room now as everyone was doing their own thing at the party. Florentyna was in charge of the alcohol, Monika in charge of the games, Tatyana on the lights, Mei on the music, and Natalya… Well, trying to not be awkward at all.

This was the first party she’s ever been to. Not that this was a bad thing, but from her terms on Earth, she was never invited to places at all when it came to being in school. This most she had ever gotten out of going to an event with her classmates were field trips. As embarrassing as that may sound, it was the truth for her. And she was quite used to it.

But seeing that this party was a whole different experience, it was much harder for her to figure out how she could help her friends. They seemed to be experts with planning how to have fun, which led her in a position of unsure of what to do to help other than set out plates in the kitchen for when the pizza had arrived.

Fortunately for her, Alfred had definitely noticed that Natalya seemed to be in an awkward position. He wondered if it was because she was being shy or if it was the fact that she didn’t have experience being at a party, while he had his experience with going to plenty of parties. The pizza had eventually arrived at the door which Natalya had handled, which after she had dropped them to the kitchen for people to eat, Alfred had been the one to approach her and whisper lowly into her ear, “…you didn’t show me your room yet, Natty.”

The suggestion had Natalya’s brows raise with a bit of amusement as she was in the process of setting out the pizza. It was an offer that she truly wasn’t opposed to doing, that once the pizza was out, she looked over at the male who towered behind her, “I mean, it’s nothing fancy. But if you insist.”

She had no idea why the other was suggesting they go to her room. But, if it meant getting out of there for a breather, she definitely wouldn’t mind that. And it was exactly what Alfred had in mind. Giving her a bit of space from the party so she could at least breathe since he could easily tell that she was a bit overwhelmed from it all.

Splitting away from the group seemed to be pretty easy. Especially since Florentyna had already taken a few shots, she was already in the position of having to be held up by Tatyana so she wouldn’t collapse onto the ground completely shitfaced. Opening up her bedroom door, walking in with Alfred, and closing it was one of the best feelings that Natalya couldn’t help but experience then and there. 

And that’s when Alfred confessed, “I could tell you were getting stressed babe,” He began, taking a moment to look around the room. It looked like a standard double-bed… Based on the plants he could see on one side of the room, he could immediately tell who she was rooming with, “You okay?”

Natalya was shocked. Shocked to hear that Alfred could just tell based off of her body language that she needed a break. She noticed Alfred figure out her side of the room as he sat down on her bed, to which she reluctantly had walked over to sit beside him with a nod, “Yeah…” She sighed, now resting her hands on her thighs while looking up at him, “I guess you can figure out too I’ve never been to a party… So when Florentyna suggested all of this, I was a bit hesitant.”

“Hey, I mean,” Alfred let out a small chuckle hearing this before reaching over; admiration towards her full in his eyes as he looked down at her and allowed for his fingers to slowly lift up her chin, “Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes I go to parties that I usually just hide in the bathroom the entire time until it’s over.”

“…are you sure you’re not me but in male version?” Natalya couldn’t help but to snicker herself, because goodness, how she related to that on the bottom of her heart, “Because I do that in general when there’s a guest over my house. Less interaction for me when I’m hiding.”

“Maybe that could be the case,” The hand was lowered by Alfred while they sat close to one another. Of course, there was something very intimate of being behind closed doors that had resulted in the male being a bit more closely with her than before. He didn’t make any moves though, but the longer they sat there, the more he could feel his face leaning down to hers, “I guess that makes sense as to why we get along so well…”

Clashing personalities… No, Natalya didn’t think that was the case. She and Alfred were completely different. He was too charming, too nice, too caring around her… While she was the one who got angry, but also knew how to play the calm game if she had to. And she still hadn’t figured out why Alfred liked her… “Does that mean I get to ask why you like me in the first place?”

That was a question that came out of nowhere. Alfred sat there now, turning his head away for a moment to think. His hand was still beside hers as he did so, but as the seconds passed, he could feel his fingers itching closer to hers, “Why do I like you… Let me correct that for you, Nat,” He turned to face her once more. This time, reaching over to gently cup her cheek while staring into her eyes. That was enough to get the woman into a position where she was frozen, “I… _love_ you in the first place because out of every girl I have ever met, you don’t give two fucks.” 

Was that the best way to say it? Not giving two fucks? This confused Natalya, but alas, Alfred continued.

“You’re different… And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing,” Alfred further explained while his thumb caressed the soft skin against her face, “Every girl I’ve met that’s a magical being seems to be so focused on their powers, but you… Are not like that at all. You embrace the natural beauties in this world that don’t have powers. Most people in this dimension have this expectation that we have damsels in distress, but you’re not like that at all… I can see you taking on witches all by yourself without needing anyone’s help, because not only are you strong here,” His hand went from her cheek to poke at her head, before soon moving to her chest, “To here.”

That… Really indeed came out of nowhere. It was almost as if it were a confession that he had been holding back from her for so long. And indeed, it was the truth. There was just something about Natalya that throughout the weeks of knowing her and starting their relationship, Alfred was falling for her hard… And the way of how charming Alfred was with her then and there?

It was safe to say that she really loved him too. 

“Wow… so…” Natalya looked down at his hand, “…it’s not because you think I’m hot like every other guy that’s tried flirting with me?”

Alfred laughed at this. Goodness, she really did know how to pull out from intimate situations, “I mean, Natalya,” He began as he ran a hand through his hair, “Are you kidding me? You’re absolutely gorgeous in my eyes. I could just stare at you for hours and wouldn’t be mad. But what’s the best part about you isn’t your looks, it’s your overall personality… however,”

The second he had said this, the male had glanced over at the door once more. It was locked, which meant that they were alone as what looked like a sly grin had formed on his face. Alfred had adjusted himself now to sitting beside her to using one hand to push her down onto the mattress of her bed. This clearly wasn’t what Natalya had been expecting at all, but based on the way he towered over her while looking down at her… 

…Not only did she realize he was charming, but he had this smile that just made her weak at the knees for him.

The man slowly leaned forward and pressed his face against the shell of her ear. He hadn’t done anything else other than pressing her down onto the bed, but he did find himself having an itching feeling beginning to built up at around his groin, “…It makes me wonder if a gorgeous girl with a beautiful personality has ever been treated like a princess before.” 

A princess?… Now he was really flirting with her. Natalya could feel the heat beginning to build up in her cheeks as she looked up at the other; her own eyes meeting his in a long intense stare… But the thing was that the entire time he looked down at her, she could see that love in them. He was being genuine towards her… Not forcing her, but more of wanting to get his point across about how he appreciated her.

And goodness, that filled that heart of hers with even more warmth.

“Alfred…” Natalya’s voice was soft, clearly in a position of being speechless. Normally she wasn’t the one to ever act this way, but just based on how he was acting… She found herself slowly reach over to wrap her arms around his shoulders.

Normally she wasn’t the type of person to give into these sorts of things… But the way he had been acting, the way he was treating her, goodness, she felt something for him then and there.

“…so.” Alfred had only continued on with his words, though this time, a hand of his had reached over to grasp onto her right breast. Specifically, over the crop-top she was wearing while he massaged the fabric; Natalya’s cheeks once again going red at the touch as she shuddered a small moan from the back of her throat, “…What do you say, Natalya? Will you at least let me make you fully mine?”

The way his hand massaged against her breast was probably one of the best feelings she had ever experienced before. The truth was that Alfred was the first person she’s ever been this intimate with. She could feel that heatness beginning to form in between her legs now feeling his hand slowly go from her breast to slowly snaking up the skirt. His gestures were soft, making sure that it felt good while his hand cupped underneath her bra. This time, the male had flickered his thumb around her nipple, which he could already tell was getting stiff the longer he allowed for her to get aroused.

“…yes, Alfred.” The silence was broken from her after a moment before the woman looked up at him. The way she looked at him was a clear indicator that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her, and it was a good thing nonetheless. While everyone was outside eating their pizza, it gave a chance for the couple to catch-up on what was planned for their little ‘date,’ “I… I love you. If there’s anyone I’d want to be doing this with, it’s you and no one else.”

Those words were music to Alfred’s ears the second he had heard this from her. That was enough of the consent he needed before what looked like a large smirk formed on his lips before he had leaned down to capture her own against his mouth. The kiss was welcomed by Natalya instinctively before soon enough, both of his hands began working away from those overalls and crop-top she was wearing.

Even Natalya as well had helped the other as she sat up. The two were quick of course; her fingers mainly working off Alfred’s pants while the other worked on getting the top layer of clothing off of her. Which to say the least, the second he had gotten the crop-top and her bra off, Alfred found himself drooling. There was something about women’s breasts that he couldn’t help but admire… And the size Natalya’s was with those soft pink nipples, he was absolutely obsessed.

Obsessed to the point that he didn’t even allow Natalya to finish working off the zipper of his hands before he pinned her down to that bed once more. Instead of allowing her, he had brought his mouth over to her right breast to suck down on; his tongue flickering along with her nipple while again, another moan was being held back by Natalya. Goosebumps formed along her skin that by the time she looked down, she could already see the massive bulge that was present on Alfred’s crotch.

In the midst of the couple being in her room and the party taking place outside of the room, outside of the university there had been a dark presence. Dark magic had been surrounding the entrance of the campus before a large portal had appeared. 

The portal soon had begun to take shape into forming three figures. It was quick, but within seconds, shadows soon disappeared into thin air to reveal three women standing in the middle of Lenfia’s campus with cloaks on. Aviana and Nebula had been the first to look around the area to see if there was anyone present.

It was very quiet. Very quiet to the point where they could hear music blasting from one of the first-year dorms. 

Gelinda parted from the group and analyzed the area to notice lights coming from the top floor. From what she had thought, everyone was supposed to be off-campus, which would give them a chance to search around the school for clues to the source of the dragon flame and heart of ice… 

….But it seemed to be that there were some students who didn’t go on the trip at all.

“Looks like we’re not alone, ladies,” Gelinda began as she walked towards the entrance of the first year’s dorms. It was indeed a party taking place, seeing that there had been flashing lights and loud music playing.  


“I thought it was supposed to be empty,” Nebula glared at the other, clearly confused on what was going on.

Seeing that the other two were confused, Aviana had taken this chance to hold out her hands. Within seconds, a spark formed and a witch’s broom formed in her grasp before she sat on it, flying directly to the balcony of where the music was taking place. That was when she saw it. 

All of them - she recognized the fairies that had caused them issues before. Florentyna, Mei, Tatyana, Monika… And it looked like a guy from UHB? She was confused, wasn’t there usually two guys present? Let alone, where was that Earth girl? 

She could hear laughing, see liquor bottles, and what seemed to be a game station set up in the corner. It looked like any other normal college party, which she rolled her eyes at in annoyance before flying back down to Nebula and Gelinda to give them an update, “Looks like it’s a party with those pixie fairies. Princess Florentyna is there with her friends.”

“The same ones from before?” Gelinda began in annoyance, “What were their names… Mei, Tatyana, Monika, and Natalya?”

“Yeah,” Aviana responded and snapped her fingers, resulting in the broomstick in her hands to vanish, “But I didn’t see Natalya at all. Every other room is dark minus the living room in their suite.” 

“…Should we go, then?” Nebula looked over at the other two with her arms still crossed, “We already know that those pixies know a few things about breaking in and sneaking around, so they’d catch us.”

“No,” Gelinda immediately interrupted the other while her eyes continued to watch the lights going off for the party. Something told her that they weren’t alone… Just because Natalya wasn’t there, it didn’t mean that girl wasn’t present on campus, “Because of those twits? I want the dragon flame and heart of ice, and I’ll burn in the flames under the ancestral witches before I let a handful of pixies get in my damn way.” 

There was a nod of agreement from Aviana, “I agree. Once we have the power former power of the Queen, we will rule to where planets will be named after us.” 

With this being said, Gelinda had held her hands out to form a bright light. In the light soon formed what looked to be a crystal that radiated with power, “Then let’s not waste any time. Even though Natalya’s not there now, she could be wandering the campus and I do not want to deal with her ass again. We’ll let the Whisperian Crystal find the source of the dragon flame and heart of ice on this campus and lead us straight to it.”

“What about the fairies?” Aviana glanced back up at the balcony, “Are we _really_ just going to let them party and have their fun after the bullshit they put us through? Breaking into our room and stealing the ring back?” 

This was a fair point that even Gelinda couldn’t help but smirk in amusement of. She was indeed right about that, seeing that the reason they had come to Lenfia in the first place was to see if there was any other connection to the ring with the dragon flame and heart of ice… If they really were going to do this right, they may as well have some fun with it.

“…Why don’t we summon a creature of the dark, then?” Gelinda began with a smirk drawn to her face while the crystal in her hand was launched into the air, waiting to lead the mistresses inside, “Let’s get inside first. The crystal is going towards the first-year dorms, we’ll follow it and then conduct the spell.”

This was met with mutual agreement from the other two with a nod before the three witches had followed the crystal directly inside the first-year dorms. Unfortunately, the doors were locked, but all they needed was a spell to have them walk through walls, which was easy. Aviana had been the one to conduct the spell by pressing her hands against the wall of the building, before soon walking through with the other two.

Inside the first-year dorms, it was very silent. The music was still playing loudly from outside, which means that most likely the group of fairies had no idea that they were there. Plus, they were on the third floor, which gave the witches a better chance of not getting caught. 

“Take each other’s hands, we’ll summon a demon to cause mayhem,” Gelinda held her hands out to the other two, before soon the witches had stood there in a circle.

With their eyes all closed, a bright power radiated the hallway before forming into a portal inside the circle they had formed. Underneath them, dark creatures began to form at around their feet, which gave them now the chance to proceed with the enchantment.

“ _Inya isesorinuym. Mythos oso factos! Demon lost in eternal darkness, rise for us! Cross the void and rise for us, and attack any fairy that crosses your path!_ ” 

As the enchantment took place, the darkness in the hallway only continued to grow in power until a creature indeed began to rise from the ground. As the witches let go of each other’s hands, they all watched as a demon, large with blue skin, a fowl expression, yellow eyes and had been dripping in mucus rise to them. 

“Pretty neat, huh?” Gelinda couldn’t help but smirk as the other two witches seemed to be shocked. Alas, it didn’t stop her from ordering the demon that was looking down at them, “Go, listen to your mistresses of the dark and go play with those fairies.” 

The demon heard the order loud and clear. Within seconds, soon the demon had gone stomping off in the direction opposite to where the fairies were going; beginning to search around. This gave the witches indeed enough time to gather themselves before the crystal once again began to radiate in power, now flying in the direction of a staircase.

“The dragon flame and heart of ice must be in this building,” Gelinda glanced over at the other two witches before beginning to follow the crystal, “Come on,” 

The entire hallway was dark as they walked through it with their only light source is the crystal. With how bright the crystal had been glowing, that was indeed enough of an indicator to being close to the source of power.

Despite the witches and demon’s presence, no one at the party had any awareness that someone had broken into the school. In the midst of the witches traveling, Florentyna had been passed out on the couch after having a little too much to drink, while Tatyana and Monika had been watching Gilbert and Mei go off on a dance battle with the game system that was set up.

However, behind a pair of doors in that suite, there was much more going on than just a simple party going on.

Clothes were scattered around Natalya’s bed once the couple had been left alone. Just as that outside, she and Alfred had no idea of the witches breaking in at all into the school. Let alone, that they were all in potential danger.

This didn’t stop them at all though while the music continued to play. Already, the positions had changed to where they once were with Alfred biting and sucking down on her breasts, to Natalya on her knees in front of the male with his cock in her mouth. 

For the first time, she was doing things she never imagined herself ever doing. But there she was, completely bare naked to the other while her mouth had bobbed up and down his length. The entire time she did so, sucking could be heard from Natalya while she looked up at the blonde; his hand laced through her hair while he had been holding himself back from letting out any noises.

Even if she claimed before that she had no idea what she was doing, Alfred was in absolute bliss. Being with the girl that he loved while she had his cock balls deep down her throat was a whole new experience that he swore he wasn’t prepared for. The hardest part about it all? He wanted to hear her noises, he had noises he had to let out just to show her pleasure… But the last thing they needed was to have someone walk in from the party.

Oh no, if they were going to get away with this, it had to be as quiet as possible.

“Holy…fucking shit, Natalya…” Alfred’s grip on her hair was tight, which indeed caught the woman’s attention while he sat there on the edge of her bed. Her pace was fast, but it was when she fully lowered herself down on him, he swore he could blow at any moment, “It feels so good, fuck… how can a beautiful girl like you know how to suck dick so good?”

Part of her wanted to laugh hearing such a statement. Sure, he was technically the first person she’s ever been with, but that didn’t mean she’d be willing to try it out. Pulling back now, there were small pants from Natalya as what looked like a strand of saliva was present; connecting from her lips to the head of his manhood. Even though she pulled back for air, her hand continued to stroke up and down his length at a fast pace just so he was hard enough, “…I guess when you’re that in love with someone, it makes it easier for you to try new things with no hesitation.” 

“A risk-taker…” A chuckle managed to erupt from his throat while he looked down at her; his fingers now slowly beginning to lace through her hair before lowering his hand to pull her up. This time, mainly to pull Natalya into a slow kiss before helping her onto the bed, “…Man, maybe that’s why you’re so hot.” 

Being pulled up from her spot and onto the bed indeed caught Natalya off guard, but she didn’t mind at all. If anything, feeling his lips against hers was the highlight of any intimate moment for her. Though it was once they were on the bed that she could feel his fingers beginning to press against her moist lips in between her legs. The second the male had pressed one finger inside her hat Natalya let out a shuddering moan, before quickly, Alfred had pressed his mouth against hers once more to get her to silence.

It began with one finger before soon transitioning into two fingers. He was slow of course, wanting for her to enjoy the feeling. It was new for Natalya, but the more he did it, the more she could feel herself wanting him to go… Faster, to say the least, “…Mm… Alfred… harder…”

Alfred’s eyes widened hearing these words from the other while his fingers continued to thrust in and out of her wet cavern. Already seeing the faces she was making brought even more arousal to her, that it made him wonder if it was possible to turn such a tough-looking girl into this weak submissive state. Just the thought of it excited him, “Harder, baby?” He chuckled, pulling out his fingers now to pry her legs open, “Oh, I’ll make sure by the end of this, you won’t be walking for days.”

Natalya was just as in much bliss as he was before when she was giving him a blowjob to start them off. The finger fucking was great, but when she felt Alfred move his hips towards hers and press the base of his cock at her entrance, she knew what was coming.

A tight pressure-filled inside her the second Alfred began to push his cock deep into her throbbing cavern. To say the least, the second she had felt this, a pleasured cry came from the woman as the male shushed her with a kiss. He was slow when he did so; the tight feeling of her around him being new to him before he officially looked down to notice that he was fully inside her. 

He managed to calm Natalya down by keeping his lips pressed against her own, which indeed helped her while she had her own arms around him. It was when he believed she was ready, that the first few thrusts came from him.

With each thrust, Natalya’s eyes were rolled to the back of her head. He was slow, but when he said he was going to go rough on her, he really wasn’t joking at all. Perhaps that cue of her asking for him to go harder awoken something in him because seconds after he had found his pace, he was pinning her to that bed.

Anytime Alfred was to look down at her, all he could see was her flushed expression while her mouth was opened in gasping pants. She was trying so hard to not moan out for the sake of getting caught, but part of him was tempted to see if he could manage to erupt something from her. Even in the heat of the moment, he felt absolutely amazing. He even at one point had grasped onto one of her breasts; squeezing it gently while his other hand was already back in between her legs. His thrusts were fast, but what made it even more thrilling was when he had slid his fingers to begin playing with her clit.

The pink pearl in between her folds being touched at had Natalya biting down now on her bottom lip to restrain any noises. All it took was that brief course of action to get her walls throbbing violently around Alfred’s cock, which only made her want to scream and cry out to him, but she held back. It was so painful, but she did not want someone like Florentyna walking in and do something stupid such as recording them having sex for the first time.

The reactions that came from Natalya took only brought more adrenaline to Alfred, giving him more energy. It had gotten to a point where he pulled his hands back now; his face pressed into her neck as he bit and sucked down on her pale flesh to make sure marks were formed, “…you’re mine, Natalya… you understand that?” He began, which was met by a gasping pant from the woman, “I love you so much. I’m going to treat you like any princess and make sure I fuck you real good, to the point where you’re dripping in my cum for days.”

For one thing, Natalya never imagined Alfred being the dirty type at all. Quite opposite actually, with how charming and funny he was around her. Sure, he flirted a lot with her, but seeing this whole other side of him made her feel special to be his, “Holy…fuck, Alfred- yes-!” That was when she realized it was true too - the quiet, charming guys were always the dirtiest.

And Alfred was only just getting started with her. There was something that told him that she was the more dominant type, but he wanted to beat her to the punch before she could make a move on him. That was when he had pulled out; indeed noticing the mess in between her legs from her arousal, but she didn’t cum yet. Oh no, he was going to get her to do such as he helped her up and put her on fours, “…Now kneel there and be a good girl, hm?”

Already, Natalya felt like she was close to cumming then and there. But then Alfred had to pull the stunt of pulling out when leaving her in a position of where she was sensitive to the point of anything happening. Being forced onto all fours had her chuckle a bit on her bed; her ass right in the air for the other. She could already feel Alfred grasping onto her asscheeks and giving them tight squeezes to assure his dominance, which only resulted in a side of hers to also come out as well, “…I bet a pervert like you doesn’t even stand a chance on getting me to cum.”

Those were daring words that came from Natalya. Even Alfred was shocked as his body leaned over hers, once again, the tip of his cock right at her entrance, “Wow… Talkback to me like that I may just cum right here,” He teased a bit, indeed finding it sexy seeing this side of hers, before he didn’t hesitate to push himself right back inside her. Again, Natalya had let out a muffled cry into the comforter of her bed. Soon enough, Alfred had picked up his pace once again with thrusting into her at a rough state, “So daring, so brave… let’s see if a brave girl like you can handle my load being covered all over that gorgeous ass of yours,” 

He was fast. Just as fast as before with his thrusting to the point where small creeks could be heard coming from her bed. Natalya had held onto the comforter of her bed; tugging on it tightly as her walls were violently throbbing around his. She was close now, especially with how fast of a pace he had immediately continued on from? 

The entire time they were in this position, Alfred had his hands right on her cheeks; holding onto them tightly with a firm grip while his hips continued to move in motion. He would pay to just see what she looked like right now. 

The throbbing inside her only continued to pick up with each thrust that Alfred had placed onto her body. Natalya knew she couldn’t last any longer, to which she had let out in a muttering moan, “Alfred…fuck…I’m gonna cum… I feel it…fuck…”

Those words to him were music to his ears as he bends forward; his hands right on top of hers while his hips continued to move in motion. His face was pressed into her neck now as he took in his scent, “Cum for me then, baby… it’s okay,” He whispered and placed a kiss against the shell of her ear, “Go on…”

His soothing words were almost like a drug to her at that moment. Even though he was going rough on her, he still had that admiring, charming personality of his shining through and comforting her when she was in such a sensitive state. And indeed once being told to do so, she felt her orgasm kick in as she let out a loud cry. Immediately, Natalya pressed her face into the blanket now to muffle out any noises, all while in between her legs she could feel the sticky substance beginning to travel down her thighs.

That orgasm of hers was indeed enough for Alfred too to find himself in a position of finding himself beginning to give in. Everything felt sensitive around his crotch, goosebumps were forming along his skin that when he felt like close, he had pulled out of her for the sake of their future as a groan escaped him. Natalya was flat on her stomach now on the bed, while the male on top of her had stroked himself to the point where his seed had begun squirting from the base of his cock onto her back.

And indeed, the load was heavy as Alfred glanced down at the other. Natalya couldn’t even feel her legs, but she indeed did feel the heathens of his seed coat her bag; resulting in small gasps to come from her lips. 

For a moment, Alfred needed to take a breather before he had set himself up now to approach the other and help her up. She looked tired, but that didn’t stop him from pulling her into his lap. Natalya didn’t know what he was doing, though soon enough she realized he had been cradling her in his arms. She was sitting right on his lap, his arms had been wrapped around her all while he pressed her face into her shoulder.

“I love you, Natalya…” Were the first words that came from Alfred after he had broken out of his panting state. His head pulled back to rest his forehead against hers; all while he stared into her eyes lovingly, “You’re so beautiful… you know that?”

Staring into his eyes was what got her into that lost state. It was almost as if she were falling in love with him once again just at the way he looked at her while holding onto her. Natalya was blushing, which she always hated doing, but she did it for him as she reached over to cup his cheek, “…I love you too, Alfred…” She whispered…

…Before soon, the couple had met each other in a slow, deep kiss.

Behind those closed doors, one could consider what had happened a level up to their relationship. The smell of sex was very present in the room, which led for Natalya and Alfred to agree once they had calmed down and had a second to relax, they would clean up and open the windows.

The good part though seemed to be that they hadn’t gotten caught at all. The entire time the two were making love to one another for the first time, the party was still taking place in the living room of the suite. That even included Florentyna waking up eventually from her knock-out to only begin pouring more drinks for everyone.

“Yeeesssh… where’s Natty and Alfred? I swear I saw ‘em… earlier,” Florentyna began in a slurred tone while Tatyana had been following her; mainly to take that bottle of rum right out of her hands because she really had enough.

“I don’t know, but let’s worry about you sweet pea,” Tatyana eventually reached over for the bottle; snatching it before she could pour another glass for everyone. And by everyone, mainly it being Florentyna, “Let’s sit down and relax, okay? Maybe once Alfred and Natalya are back, we can play a game, hm?”

“A game?” What sounded like excitement-filled Florentyna’s eyes as she stumbled over to the couch where Mei had been sitting so she could take a break from the dancing. Seeing Florentyna tumble over though indeed had her laughing just a bit, “Sure~ What are you guys thinking? No dancing for me though, I can’t dance in these heels…”

In the midst of their conversation, most of the party members were mainly trying to not laugh at Florentyna’s behavior. There was also the part of how the majority of them had been attempting to relax after a day of cleaning. 

Tatyana had gotten up once Florentyna was down on the couch, taking this as her chance to bring her a glass of water, “Here, drink this,” She began, handing over the glass to the girl as Florentyna took it with a small sigh.

Though as she was just about to take a sip, a large movement immediately filled the suite, resulting in things to begin shaking. 

The glass of water in Florentyna’s hand had spilled slightly as she panicked, placing the glass down onto the coffee table as she looked around. If there was one thing that sobered her up, it was feeling that huge shake, “What was that!?”

“It sounded like an explosion,” Monika followed up as she caught herself since the impact of the movement had been enough to knock herself off her feet since she had been in the middle of playing games, “Maybe a dragon got loose?” 

“Maybe we should check outside,” Gilbert suggested while putting his glass down. As he said this, he had walked over to the balcony of the suite to open up the door to look outside. At first glance, nothing was present, “Looks like nothing.”

The explosion though wasn’t anything at all. The movement of how it had shaken the entire building even brought a sense of panic to Natalya and Alfred, who were in the middle of airing out the room and changing the sheets on her bed. The two hurried picked up their pace, even cleaning themselves up by fixing their appearances and getting redressed to make it look like they didn’t just have sex before stepping out of the room quietly. 

Alfred split away from Natalya now, in order to ease suspicion as he walked over to the kitchen of the suite to grab himself a slice of pizza. Natalya on the other hand, who was very sore, hid her discomfort by walking into the living room with her eyes widened in confusion, “What the hell was that? An earthquake?”

“No idea,” Mei began while she already had been standing. So far, no one seemed to be suspicious of where Natalya and Alfred ran off to, but seeing that Natalya and Alfred were alright, no one questioned it.

However, Gilbert had indeed made a discovery upon going outside. Just below them, he could see a large hole destroyed through the entrance of the first-year dorms. This indeed caught him off guard before soon he called out to the group, “Uh… Guys? I think you may want to come out and see this.” 

Mei and Monika were the first to run outside to the balcony where Gilbert was standing. At first, they couldn’t see anything, but it was once being redirected by Gilbert where to look, that was when Monika’s jaw had dropped, “Holy shit!”

“What happened!?” Mei began with panic to her tone of voice. Her panic was enough to have Tatyana and Natalya run out to be exposed to the sight of the hole, “When did that happen?”

Her questions only continued, which gave enough time for another shake to fill the entire suite. Immediately, everyone had grasped onto the edge of the balcony so no one would fall, all while items inside the suite proceeded on shaking. This was when the group outside had seen it. A window, just two floors below theirs had what looked like a couch come crashing through it.

Glass shattered on the ground as this happened, resulting in startling everyone. Alfred had stepped out to the balcony as well, noticing the horror on everyone’s faces as he held an arm in front of Natalya, almost protectively at the moment, “That ain’t no earthquake,” He started off, “We need to go check it out. It could be a monster that broke in.”

“Is that even possible?” Mei looked over at the blonde with the fear still in her eyes.

“Yup,” Alfred nodded and motioned for everyone to get inside. Standing on the balcony wasn’t safe at all, especially if there was all this quaking going on, “There are a lot of loose monsters in the woods. That’s why it’s always advised that most magical beings don’t go out after midnight ‘cause that’s when they usually spawn.”

“And here when I grew up, sleeping in the woods was considered normal,” Natalya muttered underneath her breath, recollecting on her times of when she used to go camping all the time with her family, “Well, let’s not waste any more time and check it out.”

The group, including Florentyna despite her tipsy state, followed the group outside of the suite to rush downstairs to the entrance of the dorm. All the way on the first floor required taking a few stairs, which gave them a chance to see just how much damage had been done the more and more they went down.

Opening the entrance to the first floor allowed for the group to fully be exposed to the sight of what was exactly damaged. Mainly just one of the rooms that were on the first floor, as well as the entrance of the dormitory being completely destroyed.

“Oh no…” Tatyana couldn’t help but begin in a worried tone of voice as she saw the furniture from the room that was attacked, “I hope some of those are replaceable….” 

“This damage had to be done by some sort of creature,” Gilbert reached into his belt where he had kept most of his tools. This belt, specifically being manufactured for specialists at UHB, consisting of tools for battling from guns to even swords, all with the press of a button. But in this case, he had specifically taken out a flashlight as he shined the light around to observe.

Monika took the light from her brother, who pouted at her, but she ignored this as she walked over to the open hole that was once the entrance of the first year’s dorm, “It’s definitely a creature alright,” She explained while running her fingers along the edges, noticing some mucus. She gagged at first; wiping it off before thinking, “Actually… Now that I’m looking at it, I’m wondering… if it isn’t a normal creature.” 

“A normal creature?” Natalya approached Monika and glanced up, indeed noticing the mucus on the walls. Part of her wanted to gag in response since the smell was horrendous, “What do you think, then?”

Monika sighed and crossed her arms in frustration. If only they had their powers right now, they’d be able to figure out this whole situation much easier, “…I think it’s a demon.”

“A DEMON!?” Florentyna couldn’t help but to shriek while gasping, clearly horrified, “How can you be so sure about that?!”

“Well, first of all, I’m not tipsy like you,” Monika reminded the other as she approached the group once more, “Second of all, demons usually leave trails of something. This one has… A disgusting odor and mucus. I would say three meters tall, weighs close to a ton, has horns, and something we don’t want to mess with,”

“How were you able to determine all of that?” Tatyana had asked.

“Just look at the edges,” Monika motioned over to the hole in the wall, pointing out, in particular, the different shapes of the creature, “You can tell it has horns. It’s pretty big based on the height of the hole, and it would take a ton to at least break these walls on Lenfia… Now I’m convinced it’s a demon.” 

In the midst of their explanation, a loud screech had come down from outside. Everyone had been startled by the sound of it, which indeed had the men already taking out their gear to prepare for a potential fight.

“You guys stay here,” Alfred began with a serious expression brought to his face, “You guys don’t have your powers, so it’s too dangerous.”

“Excuse me?” Mei began with her arms crossed, clearly surprised to hear that, “Nuh-uh, we aren’t standing here and playing damsels in distress,”

“…I agree,” Natalya looked over at Mei with a nod before noticing the shocked expression from Alfred. It was with this that the blonde had reached into the pocket of her overalls; pulling out what seemed to be a pocket knife as she flicked it open, “I’m not staying back.”

“…Is that a knife?” Florentyna couldn’t help but stare in amazement, “Where…where did you get that?!” 

There was a small sigh that came from Natalya when she heard the question, already beginning to walk ahead, “After my mother passed away when I was younger, Moscow has dangerous areas for a city,” She looked over at the group, waiting for them to follow, “I was taught to always have something armed at me at all times. Just because we have no powers doesn’t mean I can’t fight. My sister carries a taser, my brother carries pepper spray, and I carry a pocket knife.”

Everyone was indeed amazed to hear such a thing, even Alfred, who hadn’t been expecting her to pull out a knife at all. Alas, he nodded in understanding before following his girlfriend in the direction of the noises outside. 

Stepping through the hole, Natalya had kept her guard up while looking around. So far it had been quiet, but the environment just around the school didn’t seem right at all. It was when she looked up though, she noticed what seemed to be a similar hole to the entrance of the magic’s lab, “Over there,” She began, now running over as the group followed just behind, “It’s the same shape as the other hole. There could be something inside,”

“Well, we already went far enough into this issue,” Monika spoke out as she still had Gilbert’s light in hand. She shined the light in the direction of the laboratory, which revealed that it was indeed very dark inside, but the light was able to allow for them to just how much damage that’s been done in just the hallway, “Coast’s clear. Let’s go in.” 

Walking inside the academic building that contained the magic lab was indeed an anxiety-inducing experience. Mainly at the fact that they had no idea to expect when they walked in. Fortunately for them, nothing had happened as Monika continued to shine the light around the hallway. 

In the midst of their searching, the witches however, had still continued following the crystal that would lead them to the source of power that they had been searching for. What they hadn’t expected though was to see the direction of the crystal now taking them. It was once u the stairs to the third floor of the first year’s dorms… And now, it leading them down the stairs and outside of the dormitories? 

“Is the power moving?” Aviana began in confusion with a sigh of frustration, “That doesn’t make sense… How can the power be moving from one building to another?”  


“Just follow it,” Gelinda insisted as she rushed down the stairs, clearly eager to see if the power was truly there, “If the crystal is reacting, it means that there’s a source of the dragon flame and heart of ice. We just can’t lose it,”

What the witches hadn’t been expecting though was that after walking all those flight of stairs, the crystal would take them directly outside. Outside, nothing out of the ordinary had been taking place minus the damage from the demon, but they did notice the crystal begin floating its way over to one of the academic halls. 

In this case, the academic hall that connected to the lab.

“This is so confusing…” Nebula muttered under her breath while continuing to follow the other two witches towards the entrance.

The fairies and specialists hadn’t been aware of the witches presence at all the entire time. As they searched around the academic hall, they all couldn’t find anything… Leading into Monika being one to propose an idea, “How about we all split up?” She began, which had everyone cast a look at her, “We fairies check the top floor, you guys stay on the bottom floor.”

“Oh, splitting by gender, are we?” Gilbert couldn’t help but to snicker just a tad, simply teasing before nodding in understanding, “Alright, we’ll keep our eyes out down here,”

Once the plan was established, the group of five fairies had ran off in the direction of the stairs to go see if perhaps the creature had managed to make its way to the second floor. If that was the case, automatically they would have to try and bring the creature down to the first floor…. Since while they didn’t have powers, the men would be able to restrain it with their gear. 

The second floor was absolutely quiet. Quiet and disturbing to say the least, which helped calm the nerves of the group when Monika had shined her light down the hallway. There hadn’t been anything present, which allowed for them to walk through the hallway at ease as they looked around. 

“It’s so quiet,” Florentyna couldn’t help but to speak in a whisper. The alcohol at this point had began to wear off due to everyone’s panic, which allowed for her mind to at least come back into a bit of focus, “Are you sure there’s a creature here?”

“Come on, Florentyna,” Natalya shot a glare at the other. Clearly to her, it seemed that the other was still a bit tipsy, “There’s no way those holes were there before the party. We heard the rumbling from the ground, so there is definitely something going on.”

Mei, on the other hand, was very quiet while they walked. For being the fairy of music, she could hear all noises. She didn’t care at the others were talking, but part of her swore she could hear something else as they progressed through the hallway. It was hard to see, but she was sure she could hear… Breathing? 

“Guys, shh,” Mei whispered at the others, which immediately resulted in them to all go silent. Her eyes were still focused on up ahead, but she still couldn’t see that much. And here she thought that the light would be enough to suffice. Eventually, she turned herself around to face the group while walking backwards, “I thought I heard something… But I guess not,” 

In the midst of her walking backwards though, that was when she had bumped into something.

Mei paused for a moment feeling something behind her. It wasn’t a wall… But it felt, sticky? She turned around, looking to see what she had ran into until she had been greeted by the sight of yellow eyes glaring down at her. And that was when she knew that they weren’t alone, “HOLY SHIT!”

What sounded like a screech came from the creature behind her the second she had shouted in panic. Natalya, Monika, Florentyna and Tatyana had witnessed the scene, to which they all had found horror be drawn up to their faces at the sight of it.

“I-I-It is a demon!” Tatyana cried out, “You were right! We have to get out of here!”

Loud screeching only continued to ensue from the demon. With the fact too that they didn’t have their powers, there was nothing that they could do other than proceed with the plan that they had before, which was running and bringing the monster to the boys… And that was exactly what the girls had done.

All of them quickly turned themselves around and immediately began running down the hallway which they first came from. The screeching from the demon continued, though as the girls ran, this time it fully began chasing them down. 

After all, its hostess had given a strict order to destroy any fairy that came in sight of it.

Its hostess however, still had been currently in the process of actively following the crystal. Though this time, rather than it glowing on the first floor of the academic building… The crystalsuddenly had flown up directly to the second floor of the academic building. This angered Gelinda just a tad in confusion, but alas, the witches followed to a nearby window.

Using the same spell from before, the witches had went directly through the wall of the building to be greeted with the hallway. From the stench that came, they could automatically assume that the demon they let out was roaming around, but there were no concerns over it. Instead, the crystal began flying down the hallway, directly to the staircase that led to the first floor.

“What is going on?” Aviana glared at Gelinda, clearly annoyed that they still haven’t found anything, “Why does the crystal keep doing this?”

“The source of the dragon flame and heart of ice keeps moving, that’s why,” Gelinda explained as she looked around. It was a dead hallway, so from her observation, it seemed to be that there was nothing active…. Which was why the crystal began to lead the witches to that staircase, “Just, come on. Let’s keep following it.”

Running down the hallway, it was definitely a workout that the fairies weren’t expecting to experience then and there. Especially after a night of drinking and eating pizza? No way were their bodies up to shape for the chaos of being chased by a demon. 

While they ran, Natalya had been the first to push open the door of the staircase that would lead them to the first floor where the guys were. The demon continued its screeching and even had attempted to send attacks, but all it took was for Natalya to shut the door once everyone was in to block its powers.

Then came the part of rushing down the stairs. It may have been one floor, but the staircases were indeed long to the point where the fairies were skipping steps to get to the first floor faster. 

The situation was like any chance that was to be taking place in a horror film. Within seconds of Natalya slamming the door shut of the staircase, the demon was already right at their tails with rushing at them. The stench once again began to fill the stairwell, which for them that were panting and out of breath, it wasn’t a good scent at all. 

The demon was quick, but the fairies were indeed quicker with how fast they ran. Seeing that they were about to escape, the demon wouldn’t allow that as what looked like two giant fists formed around its body in the shape of shadows. The dark energy radiated the stairwell, that all it took was for the two fists to be slammed against the floor to have some of the girls tripping and tumbling in response to the movement.

“Hold onto something!” Natalya called out to the group; holding onto one of the rails immediately to prevent stumbling back from the impact. 

The entire staircase shook, which gave a chance for the demon to launch right at them. Specifically, targeting Mei who had been holding onto the wall so she wouldn’t fall. As she said this, her eyes widened as she panicked; dodging away from the demon who immediately ran into the wall as she continued running down the stairs, “Let’s go!”

The second they were told to go, the demon wasn’t finished at all. It was angered missing the attack, that soon it came flying through the wall at Monika’s direction. 

Monika had been in the process of running, but seeing that the creature was going right for her, she felt her body tense up before she had instinctively jumped straight into the air. The one thing about being a fairy was the importance of physical training, so as the creature ran to her, she had used its shoulders to launch herself up and over it to make a clean landing on the bottom ground.

The very top of the staircase, once again, the witches had walked through the door while the crystal continued to glow. Since the staircase had been large, again, they couldn’t see the other fairies as annoyance was all plastered on their faces.

“I’m starting to get real annoyed at this, Gelinda,” Aviana spoke out with her eye twitching.

“We’re close,” Gelinda shushed the other before continuing to follow the crystal down, “Just shut up and keep your eyes out.”

On the very bottom of the floor, the door of the staircase burst open on the lower floor immediately burst open to reveal the fairies running through, which indeed caught the attention of the men who were originally searching. Seeing that they were running left Alfred and Gilbert confused, that was until the odor of the monster immediately filled the room. 

“Holy shit, that smell,” Alfred began, shaking his head while in hand he had been holding onto a sword and shield that he had taken off from his belt. Though upon realizing why the girls were running out, his eyes widened seeing the demon letting out massive screeches.

“I think you just insulted the demon, dude,” Gilbert couldn’t help but to comment with a snicker, which resulted in the blonde to roll his eyes before noticing the monster was beginning to launch at them.

“Stop with the small talk and let’s restrain this thing,” Alfred had already taken out the restraints from his belt needed to stop the creature. Just as it was about to launch at them, Gilbert had already rushed in front of the other with a shield to give Alfred a chance to jump over it; his own sword being used to slash against the demon’s back.

The demon naturally let out a piercing, loud screech in response to the sword, which either meant a good or bad sign for them. The group of ladies watched the scene, with mainly Natalya feeling herself grow a bit worried.

“We need to help them,” Natalya looked over at the group with panic on her expression, “I know we don’t have our powers, but we can’t just let them both take this demon on.”

Despite her mind being in a foggy state, hearing the suggestion of helping them out had resulted in a large smirk to form on Florentyna’s face. The good thing about being in the academic hall was that there were cleaning supplies set out for them earlier from Glynda… Thus, resulting in the girl to rush off around the corner to grab a few brooms before returning, “I’ve got an idea~”

Seeing the brooms in Florentyna’s hands indeed shocked the group. Especially since they hadn’t expected for her to respond this quickly, “Wow,” Monika commented, now approaching Florentyna to grab onto one of the brooms, “I didn’t know tipsy Florentyna was smarter than your sober side,”

“Can we talk about the drinking later and go help fight?” Natalya sighed, clearly a bit frustrated before she grabbed onto her broom.

Seeing that they all had some weapons to come in, the group of fairies indeed had joined in the two men with taking down the demon. Alfred’s sword mainly had been used to at least get the demon to an injured point where they could restrain it, but there was the problem of making sure it stayed down as he did so.

Though when seeing the group of fairies rush over with the brooms to begin attacking the demon, this resulted in a smirk to form along his lips as he jumped over; the cuffs in his hands before he had reached over to grab the demon’s wrists and slide them through.

The demon in response to all of the attacks had let out crying screeches; dark power radiating from it in attempts to see if it could stop the humans… The thing was, that nothing had been happening. The sword was enough to get it into a weak state that its powers weren’t working, which once the restraints were on, it had sent a bolt of electricity up its neck to get it restrained.

Alfred pulled back from the demon now; indeed a bit disgusted since the mucus that came form it smelled… But at least it was restrained and taken care of now.

“You and those damn brooms,” Alfred couldn’t help but to chuckle seeing the group of girls while he wiped his hands off from the demon, “Damn, that’s a smart idea,”

“Well, we weren’t just going to leave you two to handle it,” Florentyna insisted as her sober side slowly began to kick in. She had a bit of a headache, which she made this clear by rubbing her head, but she’d be fine, “At least we got it down now.”

With the creature down, it gave a chance for the group now to properly examine it. The truth was that they had no idea where it had came from. The seven individuals surrounded the demon in a circle, mainly to analyze it to see if it was something that came from the woods… But that didn’t make sense at all to them. Monsters lived in the woods. 

Not demons.

“Where did this creature come from anyway?” Tatyana couldn’t help but ask as she knelt down to examine its face. The demon’s face was horrifying, that she didn’t want to spend too much time looking at it, “There isn’t any demon preserve in these woods.”

“…You’re right,” Natalya responded in agreement to the other, watching the demon for a moment. The thing was that she wouldn’t know how a demon would come from the woods, thus resulting in her thinking. Demons, from what she remembered in her classes, only appeared if they were summoned. Did that mean someone summoned a demon while everyone in Lenfia was gone? “…I think… Someone summoned this demon to send at us.”

“Like an attack?” Mei questioned upon hearing the proposal.

“Yeah,” As she said this, Natalya had looked around the area to see if she could notice anything different, “Demons only come out if someone summons them to attack you… Specifically with dark magic. I can’t tell because we don’t have access to our powers, but something tells me… Maybe the witches found out we broke in and stole the ring back.”

Silence filled the room when hearing Natalya’s suggestion. It all did make sense… After all, what other reason could there be a demon there for? “I think Natalya’s right,” Monika responded, “Those witches are probably pissed we got the ring back, so they sent this demon at our direction… Wait.” She paused a moment, “I thought only demons can be summoned within the same viscidity as its host.”

The realization hit the group the second Monika had said this, resulting in Tatyana to begin in a quivering tone, “…you think the witches are here?”

“I believe it,” Mei was convinced now. There was no other reason for the demon to be there. Plus, even if it wasn’t the witches, it didn’t neglect that there were intruders at the university, “Gelinda, Nebula, and Aviana… Those are the three witches that come to mind that hate our guts, so who else would try to break in when the entire university is gone?”

“You said they were originally after a ring, right?” Alfred looked over at Florentyna, since after all, the ring was hers, “You think these witches may be going after the ring again?”

“Why else?” Natalya answered the question while Florentyna looked down at the ring on her finger. It was there, though the thing was that there wasn’t any power in it due to Glynda’s magic revoking spell, “They won’t be able to get the ring though because it has no powers, but what if… we’re able to catch them?”

The proposal that Natalya was suggesting seemed out of the blue. How were they going to capture witches that they had no idea was in the first place? The thing was that she had a reasoning to make such a proposal, this resulting in her motioning everyone to follow her up the staircase of the academic building.

By the time everyone had left the hallway of the third floor where the demon was, the crystal that the witches had been originally following once again had forced itself to turn around and go back to the direction of the stairs. The patience was beginning to test the witches’ minds, to the point where when they didn’t find anything minus the demon being restrained…

…Someone was aware of their presence. Which would only make their mission a bit more difficult.

“Keep your eyes out on anyone. Those fairies and specialists must’ve found the demon and stopped it, so they could be looking around here,” Gelinda spoke out to the group with her eyes narrowed. So far, there hadn’t been anyone present again. But her patience was indeed beginning to test her, “What if we break into the headmistress’ office? There should be a magic ball that can show us where the dragon flame and heart of ice source keeps wandering around because this damn crystal isn’t showing us anything”

Just as the witches were having their conversation, Natalya was in the middle of explaining her idea to the group. Walking up the staircase again after running from a demon wasn’t fun, so the group took their time while she spoke, “On the third floor is headmistress Radella’s office,” Natalya first spoke while keeping her eyes up ahead, “I’m sure these witches at some point are going to try and get into the office, “When they can’t find the ring, they’re bound to go to her office to maybe use her magic ball… I saw Radella use it when we were getting lectured yesterday as security cameras.”

“Wow, look at Natalya, thinking one step ahead,” Monika couldn’t help but to chuckle, “Anyone surprised at this point?”

“Nope,” Alfred couldn’t help but to smirk in agreement as he reached over to wrap an arm around Natalya; this catching the woman off guard at first before her cheeks went slightly red, “Always knows what to do before anyone else.”

The plan was very simple. When they had reached the office, they had all snuck in silently to prevent anything with security going off. Though walking into Radella’s office when it was pitch dark outside made it look like no one was there in the first place… So the witches hadn’t gotten there yet. 

“We’ll all hide,” Natalya turned to the group while still standing beside Alfred, “And once they’re in here, we’ll ambush them.”

Just in the midst of saying this, a bright light had come from the windows underneath them. This was their indicator that there was indeed another presence active in the building, which also led to their cue to all hiding. Tatyana and Florentyna had hidden in a closet, Alfred and Gilbert had each taken on one of the curtains near the windows, Monika had hid in a corner full of shadows and Mei had hidden behind a plant. As for Natalya, she had crawled underneath Radella’s desk and hid, remaining absolutely silent.

The glowing light only increased as the witches moved closer. While their original purpose was to use the magic ball to locate the power… Now, it had turned into a different situation. One where that as they approached the headmistress’ office, the crystal was rapidly flashing in bright light.

“Why is it freaking out?” Aviana had spoken upon noticing this. Within seconds of saying this, the crystal had immediately flown straight into the office that belonged to the headmistress.

This was when it began to click for Gelinda, “Maybe we don’t need to use the ball after all… The dragon flame and heart of ice could be in there,” She began, which had what looked like relief form for Aviana and Nebula after all of the wandering they had done.

With this in mind, the doors of the office were open to reveal darkness. The fairies and specialists were still hiding in place, which gave the witches a chance to walk in and observe the area. 

However, the crystal at this point had been floating right over the headmistress’ desk. Natalya who had been hiding underneath it had found herself shut her eyes, because for one thing, she had no idea what the light was and why it kept flashing… To the point where her eyes were beginning to ache from how bright it is

Gelinda glared at the crystal seeing it linger over a desk. The bright flashing was continuous now, which she was even more confused than she was before, “What is going on?” She whispered in a low growl underneath her breath, “This crystal is stupid. It’s responding wildly, which means the dragon flame and heart of ice is in this room. But I don’t see a fucking thing.”

“Well, maybe we should trash the place,” Nebula suggested while walking over to the crystal, “Then do a thorough search, because I am _tired_ of this, Gelinda. We’ve been searching all night for this damn power.”

“ _You’re not trashing anything.”_

The new voice immediately filled the witches' ears the second it was said aloud. As it was said, Natalya had crawled out from underneath the desk where she had met the horrified eyes of the witches. They looked almost like deers under headlights from getting caught. 

The crystal of course, continued to linger over right on top of Natalya as she stood behind the desk. Her eyes were narrowed, clearly full of disgust and hatred towards the witches as she brought her fingers to her lips to give a whistle. The second the whistle was made, the fairies and specialists who were all hiding began to make their appearances to surround the three witches

“Hit the lights, Monika,” Natalya spoke out, which with a thumbs up from the other, Monika had turned on the lights to where all of them could reveal themselves to the witches.

The witches were shocked. Shocked to the point that they weren’t expecting for the fairies or specialists from the party to figure out that they were there in the first place. Despite their silence, it didn’t stop Florentyna from speaking out, “You guys are surrounded.” She began her tone of voice much less in a slur compared to her tipsy self from before.

"What are _you_ all doing here!?” Gelinda began in an angered tone, unaware of the crystal still actively glowing over Natalya where she was standing at the desk. It was at this point no one cared about the crystal, but mainly at the fact that there were intruders.

“ _No_ ,” Natalya immediately cut the woman off and slammed her hand on the desk; a dark glare grew to her expression, “What are _you_ doing here?”

“ _…What are you all doing here is the better question.”_

The sudden new voice was a surprise for everyone. The fairies, specialists, and witches had all turned around to be faced with an individual who they all weren’t expecting. This individual being dressed in business attire as she walked in, clearly an annoyed expression on her face for seeing all of the students present in… Her office.

“H-Headmistress Radella-!” Tatyana couldn’t help but to gasp from being startled.

The headmistress clearly looked exhausted. Since she had been off at a conference the majority of the evening, the last thing she expected to see were people in her office. First, there was seeing the damages on property, then there was finding a demon on the first floor of the academics hall…. And now, there were students in her office? It was the recipe for disaster.

“And don’t you all bother hiding again. I see you all now,” The headmistress began with her own expression filled with disappointment, “Everyone. Out of my office. _Now…_ Except for you three witches, you stay. And then I want to speak with all of you after. _”_

The order was loud in clear by the woman. It was in a threatening tone of voice too, which immediately it didn’t take long for the fairies and specialists to go running out of the office to leave the headmistress with the witches. 

The witches knew they were in severe trouble now that they were caught. The crystal at that point hat vanished the second light came on, which meant wherever the source of the dragon flame and heart of ice was, had completely vanished at that point. 

Waiting for the meeting with the witches to come to an end was one of the most nerve-wracking things to take place for the group. They had to wait all outside too, where already it seemed that professors who had joined for the conference were already working on construction spells to fix the damages from the demon, all while sending the demon back to the realm which it originally came from.

This was also a good cue for the men to consider taking their leave for the evening as well. Since it seemed they weren’t in trouble due to helping stop the demon, Alfred and Gilbert had went to retrieve their bikes to plan on going back to UHB. Though just before they did, Natalya had been the one to approach Alfred to at least give him a proper goodbye.

“…text me when you get back safely?” She had asked in a calm voice, much less angered compared to how she was in the office before they were dismissed.

Alfred rose a brow hearing her question, which he chuckled at before leaning forward to place a small peck against the woman’s lips. Just as expected, she returned the gesture of the kiss while he had reached over to cup her cheek and gently caress it, “Mhm. I will… Also, Natalya,” 

“Hm?” 

“…I love you. Thanks for a great night…. I won’t forget it, and for the future ones too,” There was a wink given by the male. Natalya felt her cheeks go red almost immediately, though before she had the chance to respond, he already had put his helmet on and was off riding his bike with Gilbert to the exit of the campus.

Riding off the campus while Alfred had a large smile plastered on his face was something that Gilbert didn’t avoid noticing at all. It was once they crossed off the boarders of Lenfia’s property that he couldn’t help but to ask, “…so, I’m assuming you two did something together?”

“…Oh yeah,” There was a smirk on Alfred’s lips while continuing to ride up ahead, “Let’s just say I’m going to bed tonight as a leveled up man.”

Back on Lenfia’s campus, watching Alfred ride off with Gilbert had Natalya’s chest-beating. Mainly at the fact of not only what had happened earlier in the evening between the both of them, but the fact that he always left her with feeling all warm and good on the inside. Spending not only being alone, but making love for the first time… It felt like a dream that she swore she’d never get over for the next few days.

The visitation by the witches though was one twist that she wasn’t expecting. In all truths, no one had been expecting the witches to make an appearance, which it seemed that their antics were to go unpunished as the three had walked out of the academic building with Radella watching them closely with her eyes right on them. 

“Again as a reminder for you witches,” Radella had spoken, resulting in the three witches to look at the older woman with disgust fully on their faces, “I don’t know what is going on between you and my students, but it ends _tonight._ If I see you on this campus one more time attacking my girls, I will personally guarantee you three losing your scholarship placements to the University of the Dark Arts. I am sending you straight back to Headmistress Evanora where she’ll be handling your punishment.” With this being said, a snap of her fingers was made, “Have a nice trip.” 

The second she had snapped her fingers, the witches had soon undergone a transportation spell, resulting in them from vanishing from the campus completely. Relief immediately filled all of the girls faces, since those witches were indeed anxiety-inducing. Though one thing that they all found themselves appreciative of was the fact that despite them being grounded, Radella defended them… And protected them when they didn’t have their powers.

“Now, as for you ladies…” The older woman turned her head over to the group of five fairies, who were absolutely silent while waiting for what she had to say, “I watched what happened on my magic ball in the academic hall with the demon… and I have to say, I was very impressed.”

Shocked expressions filled the girls faces. Wait, the headmistress was impressed? 

Alas, the older woman continued while standing there with her arms folded behind her back, “Your actions were brave and resourceful. I’m very glad that the specialists were here to help you all, which reminds me, I should send a letter to their headmaster to thank him for training such strong young men… Anyway,” She cleared her throat now, “Which is why I’ve decided, because of what happened, I’ll be restoring your abilities to use your powers.”

The words that came from Radella were indeed shocking. The group had already believed they wouldn’t be able to have their powers for the entire weekend, so as Florentyna and Monika in particular were about to open their mouths to question, the headmistress had already made her decision.

With the snap of her fingers, five orbs had flown from the palm of her hands and immediately flew in the direction of each fairy. Restoring their powers was indeed an amazing process for the girls, that as their magical energy returned to them, each one of their eyes glew with power for a moment before they returned to their normal selves.

“However, I still do want you all to finish with cleaning up the university,” Radella explained, which the girls didn’t question at all. After all, she had been the one to graciously give their powers back, “After your bravery, I’ll allow it too that you use your powers to finish cleaning so at least the load is a bit more easier. I’m more worried about you all finishing your assignments for the weekend before classes resume on Monday. Are we all in understanding?” 

There was no questions needed to be made with the headmistress. She already had made one of the best decisions restoring all of their powers to each other, which soon resulted in the group of five fairies to nod in understanding, “Yes ma’am,” They all said in unison, no needing to question the other.

“Great,” A smile had drawn to Radella’s lips seeing their response. Even though for now she was done with disciplining the girls, she still wanted to check up on something on her own, “Now, you ladies go get yourselves off the bed. There’ll be busses returning here from the concert in the next hour, so best to go to sleep before the chaos of fairies filling this campus again resumes.”

Being dismissed after a terrible situation with ending it on a good note was the best way to end an evening. For the fairies, they all went back to the first-year dorms where already they were greeted to the sight of some faculty members in the process of restoring the damages that came from the demon.

For once after a hectic few days, they were all going to be able to sleep soundly that night.

* * *

Walking back to her office after giving the brief instruction of what to do with the damages of the school was one where Radella couldn’t help but to find herself thinking. In the middle of lecturing the witches before, she had gone back and reviewed the footage on her magic ball. This magic ball allowed her to see every part of the university, minus the dormitories out of privacy reasons for her students.

Yet, going back and looking at the footage from the academic hall with the witches talking had brought a great sense of concern to her.

She settled down at her desk once returning to her office. The ball in front of her glew, which resulted in her hand to linger over it to review the footage again and again to understand if she was hearing the leader of the witches, Gelinda, speak what she was saying clearly. 

The dragon flame and heart of ice…

Hearing those words brought discomfort to her stomach. And it wasn’t a good feeling at all for her at her age, “The dragon flame and heart of ice… It was destroyed when Sparx fell.” Radella spoke to herself in a whisper while sitting at her desk, still thinking. All of it didn’t make sense to her at all. The witches going after a power like that, when it was already determined by researchers that the power was long gone? “Alyona managed to destroy it… I know she did, if I was guardian fairy at the time, I would’ve destroyed those powers to make sure the ancestral witches wouldn’t get to it.”

The thing was that didn’t make sense was the whole part about destroying the power. The dragon flame and heart of ice were the powers used to create the entire magic dimension. It was impossible for someone to just destroy it. The only way to get rid of the power was to… Pass it onto someone else. This was again, impossible. All the heirs that belonged to the original guardian fairy were long gone. With the disappearance of Alyona, came with the disappearance of the powers as well.

“The witches kept saying that the dragon flame and heart of ice were in this office, but that’s not right at all… It’s not in the ring of Solis either,” Radella had continued speaking to herself before standing up. She walked over to the windows of her office to look outside it; the night sky shining below as she noticed some of the busses from the concert beginning to flood through the campus, “Is it possible that the witches are right?”

No, that couldn’t be. It was hard for her to believe such a thing, but after seeing how eager those witches were with finding the power and taking the effort of searching Lenfia for it, it began to bring up her suspicions quite a bit. 

“And if they are right…” Radella placed a hand on the glass of her window; staring ahead now towards the distance of where she could see the trees from the woods, “…How did the dragon flame and heart of ice get here to Lenfia… and _who_ would have it?” There was a small sigh of frustration. One of her students potentially having the most powerful magic in the entire dimension? Again, this didn’t make sense to her at all. 

“ _Alyona… What did you really do to the dragon flame and heart of ice?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada!~ We finally made it to chapter 5. Apologies for the long wait. I mentioned in the previous chapter that I am an ongoing graduate student, with finals right around the corner nonetheless. 
> 
> Things are starting to get a bit crazier in the later chapters, so I hope you're looking forward to it.
> 
> Chapter 6 will be (hopefully) released on 5/3/2020 ! 
> 
> If you're in college such as myself, good luck on finals! See you all then!


	7. A Discovery for Witches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The witches kept saying that the dragon flame and heart of ice were in this office, but that’s not right at all… It’s not in the ring of Solis either,” Radella had continued speaking to herself before standing up. She walked over to the windows of her office to look outside it; the night sky shining below as she noticed some of the busses from the concert beginning to flood through the campus, “Is it possible that the witches are right?”
> 
> No, that couldn’t be. It was hard for her to believe such a thing, but after seeing how eager those witches were with finding the power and taking the effort of searching Lenfia for it, it began to bring up her suspicions quite a bit.
> 
> “And if they are right…” Radella placed a hand on the glass of her window; staring ahead now towards the distance of where she could see the trees from the woods, “…How did the dragon flame and heart of ice get here to Lenfia… and who would have it?” There was a small sigh of frustration. One of her students potentially having the most powerful magic in the entire dimension? Again, this didn’t make sense to her at all.
> 
> “Alyona… What did you really do to the dragon flame and heart of ice?”

Lightning scattered throughout the campus of Lenfia. It was a stormy night for those who were fast asleep, with the barrier that kept Lenfia protected from any harm being met with loud rain as it fell. Underneath the barrier, all academic halls were closed for the night. Students were all fast asleep in their own rooms, unaware of the storm that was currently taking place.

However, sleeping soundly wasn’t what took place for Natalya.

The woman had been moving back and forth in her bed. Her eyes were shut, indicating she was fast asleep, though noises managed to erupt from her almost in a panic.

* * *

_ In her mind, everything was dark. Natalya had no idea where she was other than what looked like a light to be guiding her. Glancing down at herself, she noticed that she wasn’t in her pajamas once again, but instead, her own fairy form… Why did she keep transforming in her sleep? _

_ Was it because she didn’t feel safe? After all, anytime she was to have dreams like this, she had no idea what to expect.  _

_ “You are safe, little one… Do not worry.” _

_ The sudden voice that erupted from the light had Natalya bring her hands up to her face. It was unexpected, which resulted in a jolt from being startled to run through her body. She flew towards the light now hearing the reassuring voice… She knew that voice. It was the same voice that came to her in her last dream, the one from the Tower of the Dead, and the one that had been telling her what to do this entire time… _

_ …But she had no idea who the voice belonged to. _

_ All of it felt familiar. It was almost as if she knew the person who was talking to her, but she couldn’t make a face or connection. _

_ Glancing up, the light had grown which was bright enough to have Natalya cover her eyes for a moment for the safety of not hurting them. It was once the glow had come to an end that she lowered her arms, only to be faced with seeing the same individual who had approached her in her dreams before. _

_ “It’s… You again?” Natalya began; inspecting the person who was in front of her. This woman looked older, had beautiful long golden locks of hair, midnight-blue eyes, and skin that looked like silk. And on her face, she wore a mask - this mask being the one thing that struggled Natalya to figure out who she was. Regardless of it, this woman was absolutely gorgeous… Just looking at her, she knew this figure radiated powerful energy, “Where am I? Who are you? This isn’t my bedroom-” _

_ What sounded like chuckling came from the woman in front of her. Was this supposed to be a joke? Alas, the woman moved closer to the fairy and found herself cup her cheeks, which indeed got Natalya to freeze, “…You know who I am. You just need to remember.” The question was answered, which to Natalya, no, she had no idea who that name belonged to. Regardless of the fact, the woman had reached over to cup the younger girl’s face to examine it, “You’re so grown up, look at you… The last time I saw you, you were just a little baby…”  _

_ A little baby? Confusion filled Natalya’s expression as she looked up at the figure. She could tell this woman didn’t mean any harm… Let alone, she radiated such positive energy that… It made her feel safe despite not knowing where she was.  _

_ “Listen to me,” The figure spoke out once more before pulling her hands back; a serious expression drew to her face, “We don’t have a lot of time, my powers are weak… I need you to find me.”  _

_ “What are you talking about?” Natalya couldn’t help but to exclaim in frustration. This figure wanted her to find her? She didn’t even know anyone with her face in the first place! “Where are you?” _

_ “Think, my darling. Think deep into your heart. You know where I am as you know where you’re truly from,” The woman spoke out once again in a calm voice; a smile drawn to her lips before she had pulled back. The glow of energy began to decrease seeing that her powers were weak, but she used enough to at least get in contact with the girl who was asleep, “…I’m home.” _

_ “Home?” This was even more confusing to her. On Earth, she didn’t know any other magical beings. There was her family, then acquaintances she knew from school and her hobbies… But nothing else, “Your home?” _

_ “Your home.” She interrupted Natalya once more as the light continued to decrease, “I need you to come home to me, my baby girl… Once you do, you will be able to begin your journey on finding what was once lost… _

_ ….For what was once lost, shall be found again.” _

_ The bright light soon decreased, which came with the disappearance of the woman. This left Natalya staying in the air, immediately beginning to fly around in frustration since she didn’t know at all what this woman was talking about. She was home, needed her to find her to start on this journey? _

_ “What home!?” Natalya cried out to the darkness and continued to fly around, “Where are you?!” _

* * *

Gentle knocking was made against a large doorframe outside of the shared bedroom. Tatyana, who had been still in her pajamas and had her hair braided looked up at Florentyna’s door with concern in her eyes, waiting for the other to answer. There was no answer, which she figured was the case because Florentyna slept through anything, thus resulting in her to open the door fully to walk in.

“Florentyna, wake up,” Tatyana approached the other who had been passed out asleep on her bed. Her talking didn’t seem to do the trick, which resulted in her to sit down at the edge of the other’s bed and begin shaking her, “Wake up.”

“Mmf?~” What sounded like a snore came from Florentyna before she startled herself in a gasp awake. The mask that she had over her eyes rose as she blinked for a moment and met the familiar green eyes that belonged to Tatyana, “Huh?… What’s going on?”

“It’s Natalya, something’s wrong with her,” Tatyana began in a panicked tone, clearly a bit startled from seeing the sleep talking and movements that came from the girl.

Florentyna noticed this change of behavior from the other as she yawned and stood up from her bed, “Alright alright, maybe she’s having a nightmare. We’ll wake her up and get her out of it.”

What Florentyna had thought was a nightmare for Natalya, was surprising, something else.

As the two walked out of the room and into Tatyana and Natalya’s shared room, what they weren’t expecting to see was Natalya… Shifting in her sleep. Not from just her pajamas and movement, but her entire attire was flashing back and forth in power. She would be in her pajamas the first second before soon, she would be transformed as a fairy.

“Whoa…” Florentyna couldn’t help but gasp in amazement, clearly shocked, “It’s like, her powers are being activated in her sleep!”

“That’s why I’m worried, Florentyna,” Tatyana began with a frown brought to her lips. In her hands, she had been holding onto what seemed to be a pillow as she hugged onto it, “She’s been talking all night, and when I woke up, I saw her doing that.”

“How long has it been going on for?” Florentyna glanced over at the other.

“For a good hour at this point,” Tatyana answered and looked back at Natalya. She wasn’t talking in her sleep anymore, but she was still moving around on the bed and her appearance was changing every few seconds, “It sounded like she was having a nightmare, but at this point, I don’t think it’s normal to start transforming in your sleep.”

“I wish I could do that,” Florentyna pouted with her arms crossed, “That’s so cool to shift into your fairy form when you sleep.” The second she had said this, Tatyana gave a glare right at the other because she wasn’t taking it seriously at all, “Okay okay, I’m sorry. I think we should leave her be for now, and tomorrow morning before class we’ll mention it to her… I don’t want her accidentally using her powers on us, you know?”

That was a fair point. After all, the two had no idea that it was possible to change appearances in their sleep. A fairy form was only transformed so long as the source allowed for it to be through the simple word of ‘Charmix’. But alas, Natalya hadn’t been doing anything. She had been simply crying out in her sleep in a panic, moving back and forth, and automatically her powers were activated out of protection.

The two girls had stepped out of the room now, leaving Natalya to her dreaming state. The issue was that Tatyana couldn’t go back to sleep since of her worry for Natalya, which resulted in the proposal for Florentyna to offer the other to sleep next to her. With having a single room, it came with a pretty large bed that would fit both of them, so Florentyna didn’t mind the other joining her for the night.

And it was met with appreciation by Tatyana when the two girls had fallen asleep together. 

The following morning had arrived quick seeing that the event that had taken place was just at around 4 AM. The routine for the girls in the suite usually consisted of going to breakfast together before going to classes that took place later that morning. 

Since the event with the witches appearing on Lenfia’s campus with the demon, three weeks had passed with nothing extreme taking place. Midterms were a success with everyone managing to pass, though the one thing that was frustrating that immediately after midterms, finals were just around the corner for the first semester. 

To the group of fairies, it was insane to see how fast time had flown by. Classes were excelling well, there haven’t been any further issues, and everyone was soon going to be going home for winter break. Natalya especially was looking forward to going home and seeing her family, that was for sure.

It was just around 8 AM when everyone had woken up to get ready to go out. When waking up, Natalya was in a state of confusion… The dream she had during the night left her with many questions. If anything, she didn’t sleep well either too. She felt tired and didn’t want to get out of bed, but all it took was for her stomach rumbling to force her to get up and go get food.

She got up and noticed that Tatyana hadn’t been in the room at all. Probably she woke up earlier, which gave Natalya the chance to take her time getting ready for breakfast and her classes of the day. For her, she had only two classes, which was a lab for potion making and a lecture that she referred to as the ‘Philosophy of the Magic Dimension’. Anytime she was to go to this class, she always felt like she was in a different dimension.

Natalya left with Monika, Tatyana, Florentyna, and Mei after getting ready and grabbing her school bag to the dining hall. Usually, the dining hall this early in the morning was packed with students, so they knew they would have to wait just a bit to find a table to sit down and eat. 

As they all waited in line to choose their breakfast, this was the time where Tatyana had reached over to place a hand on Natalya’s shoulder to get her attention, “Hey…” She began, “…Are you okay?”

Hearing the sudden question caught her off guard. Natalya didn’t know if this was Tatyana detecting something, or was it that obvious she didn’t sleep well? “I’m okay. Why?” 

“I dunno,” Florentyna looked at the other with her arms crossed, “Maybe because you were talking in your sleep and transforming in the middle of the night.”

“…I was?” Natalya was shocked to hear this. She was indeed having a crazy nightmare, but she didn’t know it had gotten to the point where she was transforming in her sleep, “I mean… I was having the craziest dream,” She explained, which now she had everyone’s attention in the group, “There was this voice - the voice that came to me in another dream and the same one who helped us get out of the fire at the Tower of the Dead. It was this woman, saying I knew who she was and I needed to come home to see her. I didn’t even recognize her face.”

“Well, what did she look like?” Monika listened to this with a bit of fascination. 

As she did so, she had pulled out a device that looked like a recorder which Natalya didn’t understand… But she answered the question truthfully, “She was tall, and she was very beautiful,” Natalya began, which resulted in Monika to press a button on the device, “She had long golden flowing hair, blue eyes, this gorgeous dress, and pale skin. She had such a soothing voice too as if I knew her…”

The second Natalya had finished the description, Monika nodded and let go of the button where a bright glow formed on the device, “That’s enough I need to know. Have you heard of digit-sketch before?”

“Like a digital rendering of a description?” Mei had asked, now leaning over in interest because she didn’t know Monika had one, “I’ve never seen one before.”

“Well, you have now,” Monika pressed a button once the glow had come to an end, resulting in an image to form in front of her, “My father got me this for my birthday last year. Pretty amazing, hm?”

The second the image had come into formation, Natalya’s eyes were widened. The image that had formed from the device was the same exact woman from her dreams… It was a perfect image that she couldn’t even believe all she had to do was give a description and it was able to figure it out, “That’s her, yeah,” She looked at the device in amazement, “How does it do that? My description was vague,”

“As you talk, the device goes into your subconscious mind through the air,” Monika explained while everyone had circled around her in the group to look at the image the device had produced of the beautiful woman, “It’s magic technology."

“That’s amazing,” Tatyana spoke out while looking at the image; her brows furrowing a bit while thinking, “You know Natalya, she looks a lot like you. I’m just looking at it now and it stands out.”

“…You think so?” Natalya rose a brow looking at the image. Her arms were crossed, but still, she had no idea who the woman was, “The thing is, I have never seen her before… But looking at it again, I swear I know her from somewhere. I just don’t know where or when.”

“You think one of the magic archives in the library could have something on it?” Mei suggested as Monika had already put away the device seeing that they were getting closer to the breakfast line. 

The suggestion was enough for Natalya to raise a brow in interest since that was a good idea. In line, each girl had picked up a tray before picking off food from what had been a conveyor belt of fresh breakfast options for them to choose from, “That’s not a bad idea at all,” Natalya spoke out after picking up a bowl of oatmeal in addition to some fruits, “I’ll see if I can pop in the library after class.” 

It took about ten minutes for them all to get their breakfasts due to the line being long, but once they did, they all had sat down and found a table to converse and relax before the upcoming day of classes. It was a normal Thursday for them with the weekend once again, soon upon them. However, now that finals were just two weeks away, classes have begun to die down just a bit to transition into a finals mindset. 

In the midst of their breakfast and conversation, Mei had cleared her throat before taking a bite out of her toast and swallowing, “Oh, by the way,” She began, “I’m not going to be back until tonight. I’m going to Magix to buy some Christmas presents for my family.”

The mentioning of going to Magix and buying things had what sounded like a gasp come from Florentyna… Since when it had to do anything with shopping or buying things, “Can I come?”

“No,” Natalya immediately grabbed Florentyna’s shoulder and pulled her back, “We have class until 6. The last bus that leaves from Lenfia to Magix is 5:00. And we are not skipping, finals are less than fourteen days away.” 

“Aw come on,” Florentyna pouted just a tad before looking down. “I need to go buy gifts too, and plus, we’ve been doing schoolwork for the last few weeks… Shouldn’t we at least have some fun before finals?”

There was a long glare that came from Natalya when she heard this. Of course, she didn’t think it was a good idea at all to be going out… But then she brought up the point about having fun before finals, “And how the hell do you suggest we get there? We’re not skipping class.” 

“…Why don’t you ask your boyfriend if he can give us a ride to Magix after class?” Monika began with a small smirk drawn to her lips, which had Natalya’s face go pale, “Come on Natalya, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind giving us a ride. Those specialists train all the time with ships. I know Gilbert is on his team and they usually have missions at night, so before they go on their mission, they can pick you guys up, drop you off, and be on their way.”

“I don’t even know if he’ll say yes is the thing,” Natalya began with an annoyed expression, “If they’re going on a mission, I’d rather not disturb it.”

“Are you kidding me?” Florentyna looked over at the blonde all while in the middle of mixing around her bowl of yogurt and fruits, “Alfred’s head over heels for you. I’m sure if you explain you want to go shopping for Christmas presents but can’t because of the last bus leaving, it’s not hard for them to give us a ride.” 

“Then why don’t you ask him?” Natalya’s brows furrowed a tad.

“Because I’m his friend and you’re his girlfriend,” Florentyna waved her spoon at the other, “Point is, he’s putting you as his priority than friends. And that’s a completely normal thing in a relationship. Aka, he’ll do anything to help you out.” 

It was a fair point. The second she had heard this proposal, Natalya rolled her eyes and took another bite out of her oatmeal, “Okay, fine. I still want to go to the library after class, so I’ll ask if he and his team can pick us up at 7. Deal?” 

“Deal!” Florentyna grinned with a nod, turning back to her food to finish eating.

The thoughts of just how many things she had to do today were something Natalya didn’t look forward to at all. First, she had classes a majority of her day, with her lab being the longest at four hours long followed by a two-hour lecture, she wanted to go to the library to do some research, then she had to prepare herself to go shopping for Christmas presents?

And she was planning on doing that once she returned home for Winter Break because things weren’t as expensive on Earth as it was in the magic dimension. 

Breakfast for the group lasted about an hour before they all had to part for their classes. The potions lab had been the first thing for not only Natalya but Tatyana and Mei who would be joining with her to the class while Monika and Florentyna were together. Later on, the group would split for their lecture, with Natalya and Florentyna being together and Monika, Mei, and Tatyana being off at their spellcasting class. 

As with any lab, upon entering, all students were expected to put on the appropriate gear to protect themselves from the tools they planned on using. Not only were they wearing coats and goggles, but no gloves seeing that they would be using their magic to conduct spells to brew potions. 

Today’s lesson seemed to be specific ones about creating healing potions in case there were injuries during battle. If the potions turned out successful, they were able to keep the bottles too just in case. 

For the three girls, this class was very interactive, unlike the classes where they had to either sit down and listen. Potion making in addition to their strategy based course where they would have to train their bodies to take on monsters were two first-year classes that were always enjoyable. 

Plus for Natalya, it was always nice to have friends in her class to bounce ideas off of when it came to brewing their potion. 

The lab consisted of up to thirty other first years, including the three of them. Unfortunately, since they had been working on healing potions, this class would mainly be for independent work. The good thing though was that the Professor was open to other fairies helping each other out because after all, that’s how fairies naturally would be towards one another in the actual world. 

Just as with any lab though, the longer it dragged on, the more tired the group all became because of how much work it took to get things done. There was a fortunate point that the Professor allowed for the students to take a break before getting back to work, which was when Natalya had taken her chance as reaching out to Alfred.

She pulled out her phone, scrolling through her messages to see the very first message being her conversation with him the previous night. The last thing that she saw sent was him saying sweet dreams before she had gone to sleep. Who knew that sweet dreams would turn more into a crazy dream? 

You (12:07 PM):  👀

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:10 PM): Well, good morning to you, princess. Sleep well?

You (12:11 PM): Sort of… And good morning? It’s the afternoon.

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:12 PM): Right. I forgot you’re a good girl and actually have a bedtime.

You (12:13 PM): Suck my fake dick, you’re lazy.

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:14 PM): Good to see that you did sleep well. Sounds like you’re acting like your normal self as per usual. Plus, you know I’d happily eat you out any day, babe. ;) 

You (12:15 PM): Okay, so here’s a proposal then. I need your help with something, and if you can do it, I’ll let you do anything you want to me in bed.

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:15 PM): Oooh. Now you’re talkin’ my language, princess. What’s up? 

You (12:16 PM): So, tonight Florentyna wants to go shopping in Magix to get some Christmas presents, and I… ‘agreed’ to go with her. The thing is that the last bus to Magix leaves an hour before our last class… And I know you’re doing your mission tonight with your team, so I was wondering if you guys could give us a ride?

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:17 PM): Just a ride to Magix? Really? 

You (12:17 PM): Why do you sound surprised?

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:17 PM): That’s it? And I get to tie you up on my bed and eat out that pretty pussy of yours?  
  
You (12:17 PM): If you put it that way…

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:18 PM): I’m just teasing ya. Also kind of serious. Both. Anyway, yeah, I’m sure it’s not a problem. What time did you want us to grab you?

You (12:18 PM): Is 7 okay? 

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:19 PM): Totally fine. I’ll be there with my crew in front of Lenfia’s gates at 7, then.

You (12:19 PM): Thank you, Alfred. I really appreciate it.

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:20 PM): Of course hun. But I was serious about you coming before you leave for winter break. Just so you know that...~

You (12:20 PM): Yeah, I know. We’ll talk dates.

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:21 PM): Bet. I gotta get ready for class, but I love you. Be a good girl for me.

You (12:21 PM): I love you too, and I should be the one telling you to be a good boy, smartass.

Alfred  💕🌼 (12:22 PM): You are so fuckin’ cute, I love it.

The phone was placed down into her bag once the text messaging session had come to an end. Great, that was one thing off the checklist of multiple things she had to do for the day. Now that she had the mindset of having to go out later to do some shopping, she also needed to accomplish that task from beforehand with researching the person that came in her dream.

That was something she had to worry about later on in the day because she still had that lab and her other class to worry about. 

After that handful of hours, the lab eventually did come to an end which gave her and her friends at least a break to get themselves some lunch. Since there was only an hour until all their lectures, the group had once again met up in the dining hall to grab something to eat quickly before spitting once more. The one thing compared to Florentyna and Natalya’s lecture was that for the other three fairies, they got out of their class an hour early, which allowed Mei to leave for the last bus to Magix. 

Sitting in that lecture for Natalya was hard for her to concentrate on. She took down her notes, asked her questions, and participated in the class as per usual, but there was still the conflict in her mind of that dream she had the previous night. She had to go home and find whoever this figure was… But, she was going home in two weeks for Winter Break. 

Maybe her mind was creating an illusion to suggest that she should do good in finals so she could get home faster? At that point, Natalya had no idea.

The lecture itself was interesting, this time mainly focusing on the topic of why there were some people in the magic dimension who didn’t have powers versus those who did. After all, while a huge population of the magic dimension had magical beings, not all of them were magic users. From what she learned in that class, it all depended on race and family. 

It was easy for magical beings to have children with powers, just as it was easy for a regular human and magic being to reproduce… But over time, humans naturally would fall in love with one another and have their own offspring. This made Natalya think of Alfred when he explained his family… Well, she didn’t know much about his family other than they were human and had very important jobs from the planet he was from.

Other than that, she has yet to meet them. Alfred already got the chance to meet her own family through a video call to her siblings and father on Earth, which to say the least, that whole experience was definitely interesting. Her siblings were shocked that Natalya had found herself in a relationship, but her father was not fully accepting of Alfred at all.

Mainly due to the fact that he believed his daughter should be prioritizing school than hanging around a guy she liked. But the icing on the cake to get her father to open up to Alfred was when he had explained he had a full academic scholarship to the University of Heroics and Bravery and was training to become a specialist so one day he could protect the lives of others like a hero.

Since that day, anytime she was to get a phone call from her family on Earth, they would always ask about Alfred.

Her lingering thoughts came to an end though once the lecture ended. It was just around 6:00 PM, which meant that Mei had already left to Magix to start her shopping process, leaving Natalya and Florentyna to walk out of the classroom together. 

“So, the guys will be here at around 7,” Natalya explained to the other while carrying her book bag as they walked through the academic halls, “They’ll meet us at the gate of the school, pick us up and bring us to Magix before their mission. Is anyone else coming besides just us?”

“Nope. Just me, you and Mei,” Florentyna responded while glancing down at her phone to check on any of the notifications she had missed during their class, “Monika said she had to finish homework and Tatyana has this huge project for spell-casting, so I told her to take advantage of the quietness of the suite while we’re gone so she can get it done.”

“Fair enough,” Natalya nodded and reached for her own phone to see if she had any messages. So far nothing minus the occasional funny image Alfred would send her of cute things, to which she had responded quickly before turning to face her friend, “I’m going to go to the library to look up about my dream. I’ll meet you later at the gates?”

A nod of understanding came from Florentyna before she stopped walking and gave the other a thumbs up, “Yup! I’ll see you later,” 

Florentyna had taken this her opportunity to go back to their suite to grab her wallet, as well as drop off her belongings before leaving with Natalya later. She could kill an hour to wait, so it wasn’t a big issue for her at all.

For Natalya though, having this time was enough for her to get to the library to begin searching. The issue mainly with her had been that she didn’t know where to start searching. The library in Lenfia was huge, so she didn’t know exactly where to start about dreams. Which led to her decision to approach the librarian who had been working at the front desk of the library when she entered.

The librarian was an older woman who seemed to be in the process of reviewing documents. Natalya didn’t interrupt her, but when realizing she was in a bit of a hurry… “Excuse me, ma’am,” 

“I’m sorry dear, I’m terribly busy right now,” The librarian spoke out when Natalya had interrupted her. A frown came to Natalya’s face now - how the hell was she supposed to get help then? “If you’re looking for a book for class, feel free to use the magic catalog to locate it.”

That… Was a fair statement. Why didn’t she think of that? They were in a world where magic existed, so naturally, these libraries weren’t like Earth where a person had to search around in order to find a book. Natalya nodded at the faculty member with a, “Thank you,” before turning herself over to walk down one of the hallways to see if she could find this catalog.

The good thing was that this catalog stood out right then and there to her in the form of a podium. It was that easy to find it? She wasn’t complaining at all as she approached it and placed her book bag down to look over it. From what she observed, it was a large book that required magic to have access to the catalog.

And so, she had placed her hand on it and closed her eyes; allowing for the magic to radiate down to her hand as she focused, “ _Bring me books about… my dreams..”_

She had no idea where to start off with the research. After all, the dreams were vague, so she didn’t know how to describe it to the search. To her surprise though, what she hadn’t been expecting was for two books to come flying in her direction. This startled her when she opened her eyes, watching the books open directly to a page with plenty of text and useful information.

“That’s so… creepy,” Natalya began, clearly surprised that all she had to do was ask for something about dreams and then and there, the books were able to find something connected to her. Then again, she told herself she shouldn’t underestimate these books. All the books had powers, so naturally, it wouldn’t be hard for them to locate something for her.

She reached into her pocket where she had pulled out a pair of reading glasses. One thing that was technically human about her was the fact that she always needed glasses for reading, which resulted in her putting them on before looking down at the text to see if there was anything that mentioned about going on a journey.

But to her dismay, she was surprised to see that she had been reading about something else.

“The…dragon flame and heart of ice?” She read aloud to herself in confusion. What did it have to do about her dreams? She knew that the witches were trying to go after it, but she was done researching it. The thing was, the more she read, she more she was interested to read more, “Two forms of power that created the magical dimension… Yeah, I already know that, but it has nothing to do with my dreams.”

She continued to read more. The book progressed more into the power and how it had worked, as well as for the heirs of who had once possessed the powers before it had disappeared a long time ago. The names didn’t stand out to her at all until it had reached to a part of the book of the last fairy to have had the power.

“This is stuff I already know too…” Natalya had a bored tone of voice when she said this, finding herself in a position where she didn’t know what to look at anymore, “The planet Sparx was the home planet of the dragon flame and heart of ice, yeah… Hm.” Now she managed to find something interesting in the later on sentences, “The last fairy to possess the dragon flame and heart of ice was the Queen of Sparx, Alyona Braginskaya. After the destruction of the planet, the disappearance of her family led to the disappearance of the powers,”

All of it was very interesting information. And that name too… Alyona. Where has she heard it before? It sounded very familiar to her, but alas, she continued to read, “The disappearance of her family included her husband, King Viktor, and their three children, Yekaterina, Ivan, and Natasha…” She paused a moment, “Wow, that fucking sucks for them.”

As she had said these words though, what she hadn’t realized that books had begun to remove themselves from the shelf and had been floating around her. All it took was for her to look up and feel her eyes widen at the sight of all the books floating around her.

“ _Sparx…”_

_“Dragon flame and heart of ice…”_

The books were talking!? This wasn’t good at all as Natalya had held her hands out, a wave of power filling the room, “Go back to where you came from!” She had shouted as the books all flew away. However, just as she thought the books would go away, more book came flying out in response, “Oh, come on!”

This was the last thing she needed after getting books that were wrong. She didn’t realize though that talking out loud to herself as she read would result in all of the books wanting to fly in her direction. She held out her hands and cast the same spell once more, which had some of the books fly away for a moment before more began to surround her.

“I need help!” Natalya had called out from the catalog chamber, “Someone, please! My spells aren’t working!” 

Despite her cries for help, nothing had happened. 

The librarian on the other side of the library had noticed one thing as she was sitting and doing her work. From afar, she could hear chains beginning to clash against one another. Was one of the students trying to get into the restricted vault? 

The older woman stood up and walked over to where the vault was, but to her surprise, there was no one there. Instead, the chains that had kept the door lock was broken, allowing for books to fly out from it, “What… what is going on!?” She exclaimed in a panic, “How did the door get open!?”

That was when she heard the cries for help. The librarian turned toward the direction of the yelling before finding herself in the catalog section of the library. There, she had been exposed to the sight of books flying around everywhere in rapid speed around Natalya who had been crouched onto the ground, unsure of how to stop it.

“I need help, please!” Natalya noticed the woman and kept herself low so she didn’t get hit with the books that were surrounding her, “My spells aren’t working, the books aren’t listening to me!”

“I’ll go get the headmistress,” This was something that the librarian knew she couldn’t do at all. Magical books were very dangerous to handle, so it was no shock that a fairy wasn’t able to handle all of them when they came flying in her direction. She had sprinted over her desk, and all she had done was pick up an emergency phone that would notify the headmistress, “Radella, there’s an emergency with a student.”

Within seconds of getting the notification, a portal had immediately opened up in front of the librarian. The headmistress, who seemed to be concerned hearing that there was an emergency was right on it with transporting herself from her office to the library.

“Where?” Radella had asked.

“Follow me,” The librarian instructed the other as the two older women had walked down the hallways of the library.

The sight that Radella had been exposed to was one that she wasn’t expecting to see at all. Books flying everywhere and Natalya being underneath it all in a position where she couldn’t escape it. This was enough for the headmistress to hold her hands out where bright magic-filled within her palms, “ _Restido Ordo!”_

As the spell was cast, magic-filled the environment and managed to hit every book that was surrounding the girl. Within seconds, the books had dropped directly to the ground; leaving Natalya in a shocking state while Radella had approached the other and helped her up.

“Are you okay, dear?” She began with concern on her expression, “Are you hurt?”

“No…” Natalya let out a small sigh of relief seeing the other, that she couldn’t help but to stand up and hold onto the podium for support. It was an intense situation that she was still horrified from, but she knew she’d be fine, “Did I do something wrong?”

Did she do something wrong… It was a question that Radella didn’t know if she could answer, “No, it’s not you. I can feel this powerful energy radiating in the room… Maybe it’s what resulted in the books to react. Tell me, did you look up something that maybe would have triggered them to go off?”

This confused her. No, she didn’t think so at all, “I don’t know, ma’am. I was trying to do some research because…. I’ve been having these weird dreams lately, and I wanted to see if I could get some answers to whoever is trying to call out to me.”

Radella’s expression softened. The girl was having dreams? She knelt down and picked up one of the books to see what exactly she was reading, which to her, resulted in her eyes to go widen.

The book she had picked up was all about the dragon flame and heart of ice. The same exact concerns that Radella had been having since the witches had broken into the school a few weeks back, attempting to search the power. If Natalya was looking up something for her dreams, how come all of the books were targeting her about the dragon flame and heart of ice? 

“Well… This is interesting, very interesting,” She began and closed the book before looking at the girl, “These books came to you for some reason. If you’d like, Natalya,” She started off as the other girl listened, “I don’t think these books will help with your dreams. But I’d be happy to help you go through a little exercise to figure it out in my office.”

Having a powerful fairy such as Radella offering to help her? The expression on Natalya’s face went into shock, because if there was one thing she appreciated, it was that offer then and there, “Really? I would really appreciate that, headmistress. Thank you.” 

“Absolutely. You aren’t busy now, are you?” As Radella had said this, she had placed the book she had in her hand onto the podium for the catalog search. She had followed up by picking up another book, this time scanning through it quickly before her eyes widened at a page.

The thing was that Natalya had planned to go to Magix at around 7 with Florentyna… And the specialists were picking them up too. She reached into her pocket to pull out her phone to check the time. It was only 6:20, so she probably had enough time to go through this brief exercise with Radella and have time to meet Florentyna at the entrance.

“No, ma’am. My classes for the day are already over,” Natalya explained, noticing that the older woman seemed to be looking at one of the books that were flying around her earlier.

There was indeed a reason why Radella had found herself shocked. Just looking at the book, it wasn’t just talking about Sparx… But the presence of the ancestral witches that she had slammed the book shut, clearly discomforted by it, “Alright then,” She gave Natalya a smile to assure her that nothing was wrong, “Please go up to my office, then. I just need to take care of things here, but I’ll meet you there after.”

That was fair enough. Natalya nodded in agreement before stepping down from the podium, now walking out of the area towards the exit so only the headmistress and the librarian were present. 

Radella waited for a moment after Natalya left before turning to her colleague with a serious expression on her face, “Why are there books about the royal family and the ancestral witches out for students to see?” She began in a strict tone of voice, “I thought these books were to be in the restricted vault at all times.”

“T-They were, ma’am,” The librarian immediately responded, which had Radella confused, “Before I found the student, the restricted vault was wide open.” 

The restricted vault was wide open? Radella stepped down and looked at the books that were on the ground. All of them had titles pertaining to the history of Sparx, as well as for the dragon flame and heart of ice. Something wasn’t right at all.

Since the day of the witches break-in at Lenfia where they claimed to be looking for the dragon flame and heart of ice, she had already brought it up briefly to the authorities of magix. There was a potential chance that the power did linger in Lenfia, but she didn’t know exactly who may have a connection to it.

Seeing the books around Natalya though… Something definitely didn’t feel right to her at all.

“Close the library for the rest of the day, and see if you can bring all these books back to the restricted vault,” Radella had decided and snapped her fingers; magic once again filling the room as all the books were stacked up neatly so they could be brought back to the vault, “There’s a powerful energy here, and I’d like to come back to inspect it after my meeting with the student.” 

There were no signs of disagreement from the librarian who had been told this, to which she nodded in understanding and got to work right away with making sure all students were out to put away the books.

Natalya had already been in the headmistress’ office by the time she had arrived. When she had first gone to the receptionist about having a meeting with Radella scheduled, the assistant had led the student into the office where she was seated and patiently waited for Radella’s arrival. 

It was only five minutes after Natalya had sat down that Radella had returned to her office; frustration present on her face after what she had witnessed in the library. There was something going on, but she couldn’t put her finger to it and figure it out. Alas, when she saw Natalya, she put a smile on her face and walked over to her desk to sit down with the student.

“Now then,” Radella cleared her throat before looking at the younger girl, “Could you provide some details about your dreams? Just so I know before the exercise.”

Talking about the dream was difficult for her to describe. After all, how could Radella believe her if she told her that there’s been someone trying to talk to her since the beginning of the school year? “You see,” Natalya began in her seat as she sat up slightly, “For the last few weeks, someone has been coming to my dreams saying that I know them. That I need to begin a journey with her, but I need to find her first… And to remember who I once was. The thing is headmistress, I have no idea who this person is,” She explained while the headmistress seemed to be interested to hear more, “She hasn’t told me her name, but said that when I remember, I would know who she is. She looks familiar to me, but I swear I haven’t seen her until now.”

The information was very intriguing. From Radella's interpretations of the information, she could conclude that Natalya was in the position of someone trying to get in contact with her through her powers. Yet, dream sequences as a form of contact were only a method used between people who were of either similar powers or blood relations. She’s heard of families using the method to contact one another, but Natalya’s case sounded odd to her.

“Well… Our subconscious sometimes creates illusions to warn us about things,” Radella explained with a bit of thought to her tone. As they discussed, the receptionist from the front desk had walked in to bring the two tea, to which Radella nodded in appreciation before the assistant had left, “Your mind could have created this person… Don’t you think so?”

“…That doesn’t sound right to me at all,” Natalya explained, noticing that the older woman had motioned her to take one of the cups of tea. She sighed and picked one up, holding the hot cup in her lap while she thought, “This voice is a woman that I know. I mean, I don’t know her, but I feel like I’ve known her my entire life.”

“…Remind me, Natalya,” Radella sipped her tea for a moment before placing it down, “Your powers specialize in the manipulation of fire and ice, yes? I’ve read the reports from your professors, and they’ve been very impressed in your abilities for someone who just discovered her powers months ago.”

A nod in approval came from Natalya when she heard this. Yes, that was indeed the case. When it came to her powers, her Professors had always said it was a rare case with her. Fairies were usually born with one power, but then there was Natalya with two powers that she still didn’t have a balance of yet. So for now, she used her powers as needed, as well as only unleashed them during training sessions.

Concern formed on Radella’s face. All she needed to hear was that confirmation of what Natalya’s powers were to form a possible hypothesis… She didn’t know if she was sure, but since the dragon flame and heart of ice were elements of fire and ice… Did the witches from before think just because she had those powers, she could be connected to the dragon flame and heart of ice?

It was absolutely impossible. No, it was too hard for Radella to believe that Natalya had an association with the powers. She saw with her own two eyes years ago when the destruction of Sparx took place. No one could find the family, no one could find Alyona… 

…And that day was one of the most horrific events to take place in Radella’s life.

“Give me your hands, Natalya,” The older woman had placed down her cup of tea as Natalya looked up, who was in the middle of sipping hers. When hearing the order, Natalya had placed her cup down on the desk and reached over to take grasp of the older woman’s hands, unsure of what she was doing, “I want you to close your eyes and open your heart. I’m going to take you on an astral journey in your mind to connect to your powers… and perhaps then, we can get an answer to your dreams.”

As she was instructed, Natalya felt her eyes close instinctively while her hands remained in the other’s grasp. She could feel powerful energy beginning to radiate around the office before soon, she felt lighter. It was almost as if she hadn’t been sitting in her seat anymore, which when she had opened her eyes, she realized what had happened.

* * *

_ They were in a trance… Looking around, Natalya knew that she wasn’t on Lenfia’s campus anymore. It was almost as if she had been transported to a different world. But of course, Radella had been beside her as they looked around. The area was dark, but there was a presence of light from afar. _

_ “What is this place?” Natalya spoke out after a moment as she looked at the ground. From what she could see, they were standing on grass, which meant that they were definitely outside somewhere. _

_ “I don’t know, Natalya.” Radella responded, “I was hoping you could tell me… This is your heart, after all. We are here in spirit, so our bodies are resting still in my office.” _

_ This was a shock to her. From what she could tell, Radella noticed that Natalya didn’t know where they were… But the thing was, she recognized it almost immediately. Just the environment made her knew where they were, which was a planet where she never imagined Natalya to take them. _

_ “…This place feels familiar,” Natalya began after a moment and kept her eyes out. Seeing that there wasn’t anything around them, she did find herself drawn towards the light that was up ahead, “Like I’ve been here before.”  _

_ She felt like she’s been to this place before… Radella knew the place immediately just seconds of being transported there. They were on Sparx. The planet she never thought she’d ever see again after all these years, but alas, she kept her mouth shut mainly to observe the girl and why she was walking towards the direction of the light. _

_ The light was drawing towards them the more they walked forward. There was a positive, powerful energy that radiated from it that Natalya found herself wanting to get closer in order to see what it was.  _

_ “We must be quick, Natalya,” Radella reminded the younger girl while following behind her, “My powers won’t be able to last long, but I’m sure we can find out who this figure is.” _

_ That was what mainly Natalya wanted after all. Her dreams have gotten to the point where she would wake up helpless and lost, unable to communicate to the figure or voice that had connected with her before. She continued walking towards the light, though once they were close enough, that was when she had a chance to see it all. _

_ It was… The same figure from her dream! Natalya’s eyes widened in shock to see that the spell Radella had put together had worked, resulting in the girl to immediately rush towards the light to get a better visualization of who the person was. Radella was just behind her attempting to catch up, but once they figure had noticed the girl, what looked like a large smile had formed on her face. _

_ Powerful energy surrounded the area as Natalya stood there. The figure of the woman made itself closer to the younger girl, revealing to be holding onto some sort of case. Natalya looked at this case with confusion, waiting to see if any words would come from the person. _

_ “…do you finally remember who you are, my darling?”  _

_ As these words were said, the case was opened where a bright light had filled the area once more. Radella had eventually caught up to where Natalya was, but due to the positive magic, she had shielded her eyes from seeing who exactly was speaking out. _

_ The case opened slowly just until the bright light had come to an end. From there, what looked to be was a velvet pillow carrying… A crown? No, to Natalya it looked like some sort of tiara as she approached to look at it, “Who… I am? _

_ “Natalya, my powers are weakening,” Radella had called out, still shielding her eyes, “We don’t have much time now.” _

_ “This belongs to you, little one.” The powerful figure spoke once more as Natalya reached into the case and touched the crown.  _

_ It was… Absolutely beautiful. A golden tiara with beautiful gems decorated along with it. It was heavy for sure, but the more she held onto it, Natalya swore she had seen this tiara once before… In a dream, maybe? She had no idea. _

_ The light eventually coming to an end had Radella lower her hands now so she could look over to the scene. And what she had seen had her eyes widen in shock. She saw Natalya, yes, but the figure… No, it couldn’t be her, was it?  _

_ The crown was in her hands as she observed it, but this didn’t stop the woman from continuing to speak. “The ember tiara. And you know who you are. The powers are alive, Natash--" _

_ A bright light had filled the area before Natalya had the chance to hear what the woman had been saying. With the blink of an eye, the scene had transitioned immediately back to Radella’s office as Natalya had spoken out, “It’s alive? But what does it have to do with me?!” _

_ There was no response.  _

* * *

Natalya realized what had happened, especially seeing that the Headmistress had been sweating slightly as she sat there. There was exhaustion on her expression, but mostly shock at the figure she had seen from before, “I’m sorry, Natalya…” Radella spoke out with a small pant.

“I want to go back, headmistress.” Natalya stood up from her seat, almost in begging agony at that point. The woman was going to tell her something, but it had gotten to the point where she wasn’t able to finish the conversation. Thus, leading her on a note of where there was a tiara that belonged to her, as well as that this dragon flame and heart of ice was still alive. But none of it made sense to her at all, “Please!"

Radella looked at the girl with great concern to her expression. Did Natalya not realize who they were interacting in the first place? “…All of that took my power, Natalya… I’m sorry, I can’t bring you back for now,” She began with a small sigh, soon wiping her forehead, “Do you know who that was?”

“No,” Natalya responded once more. She felt like she was about to get the answer then and there, but being cut off mid-conversation with the woman got her completely lost, “She was saying something important, and I didn’t get to hear her finish what she was saying."

She didn’t know if she should even tell Natalya who she recognized as the figure… Deep within Natalya’s heart had been Sparx and well… Its former Queen. When she had expressed that she was having dreams, the last thing Radella had ever expected was for it to have a connection to the royal family from long ago.

This may have been a bigger issue at hand if Natalya had something to do with it.

“The woman we saw there, that was Alyona,” Radella spoke once she managed to calm herself down; now sitting up to reach for the tea from before to drink out of for some energy, “She was the guardian fairy of the magical dimension years ago. The fairy who was the last one to have carried the dragon flame and heart of ice.” 

As Natalya listened, she sat in her seat with a serious expression drawn to her face. Alyona… That was the name from the book she had read about the magic dimension in the library! The face was familiar, the name was familiar… But she couldn’t figure it out, other than reading it from the books she had found. That was it.

“Well, what’s she got to do with me, then?” Natalya had asked now in a questioning tone, “What does the guardian fairy of the magic dimension need from me? I’m just a regular fairy, and this goddess figure wants help from me?” 

“…I don’t know again, Natalya,” Radella did have her suspicions, but she avoided suggesting them then and there to the girl. So far from all they knew, Natalya was a girl from Earth who had discovered she had powers. Yet, the connection to the magic dimension never made sense… Did Alyona do something during the tragedy of Sparx? “I think at this point dear, it’s a case where you’ll need to answer that question on your own.” 

“What about the tiara?” Natalya asked once again, she wanted to get as many answers as she could get there, “What did Alyona mean by the tiara belonging to me?

It was a very interesting case. For that, Radella again had her predictions, but she didn’t want to jump herself ahead and come up with conclusions that’d turn out false. After all, the royal family was gone. All they could determine there was that Alyona’s spirit was lingering around Natalya, “I would ask her the next time she comes to you in a dream, Natalya. One of my suspicions is the reason she’s reaching out to you is that you come from Earth, and if she were to reach out to any other magic being, it’d be a difficult case… You understand me?”

The response that Radella had for her question did make sense. After all, Natalya wasn’t from the magic dimension at all. Maybe this spirit of the former ruler of the dimension had been reaching out to her because she was a special case. In all truths, she didn’t know, so all she could do was wait until the next time she had a dream. 

Despite being in a frustrated state, that’s when she remembered about the shopping trip she and Florentyna planned to go to. Natalya checked her phone and noticed that it had been 6:57 PM. The heroes were about to arrive at any minute, and she wasn’t even outside yet!

“I’m so sorry headmistress, but I need to go,” Natalya had stood up from her seat; grabbing onto her book bag quickly, “I appreciate the help. I truly do, but I just remembered I need to… Get to a group meeting for an assignment. Have a good evening,” 

Within seconds, the girl was rushing off out of the administrator’s office and straight out of the academic building. She had to run to her room, drop off her belongings, grab her wallet, and sprint as fast as she could to the entrance before Florentyna began calling her asking where she was.

Leaving Radella alone in that office gave the woman a chance to think. Seeing the figure that Natalya had been talking about being one of her dearest friends… A friend she had grown up with as a fairy, going to Lenfia together… Alive? After all this time, when everyone had thought she had died along with the dragon flame and heart of ice?

First were the witches that had been suspicious of the dragon flame and heart of ice existing. Then there was Natalya who had been having weird dreams associating with the power, but she had no idea what it meant or was. Radella had reached underneath her desk now to pull out what looked like a phone before pressing a few buttons, waiting for a moment until there was a ring so she could pick it up. 

“Hello? Yes… _”_ The older woman had spoken into the phone in a soft voice, clearly still exhausted from the spell, “I was wondering if it would be possible to bring me a copy of therecords of the Braginsky family…” She paused for a moment hearing on the other line, where the person speaking seemed to have been laughing as if it were a joke. But alas, this was no laughing matter, “Put me in contact with the minister of the Magix authority. I specifically need the records about Queen Alyona’s children. All three of them.” 

“ _…Yes ma’am, but,_ ” The phone on the other line had asked the headmistress, “ _Who’s asking for them? Records for any royal family aren’t to be released to anyone other than the magical authority, even the deceased ones_.” 

“… _I’m_ asking for it,” Radella’s grip on the phone had tightened now, “I am the former guardian fairy for Queen Alyona and member of the Company of Light, and most importantly the godmother of one of those children….

…I need those records because I suspect Alyona may have not destroyed the dragon flame and heart of ice.” 

* * *

If there was one benefit to doing a lot of athletic-related sports growing up, sprinting from the academics building to her suite to the entrance of Lenfia all under five minutes was great. It was something Natalya didn’t think she’d be able to do, especially after retiring from competitive figure skating earlier in the year

Upon arriving at the entrance of the school, she was very fortunate as well to see that the guys hadn’t arrived yet. It only had been Florentyna who had her phone out and was scrolling through it. Though when seeing her friend approaches her, Florentyna put the phone away and smiled at the other, “There you are. Did you manage to figure out the deets about your dream?”

“Yes… And no,” Natalya answered, which automatically had Florentyna in a position where she was confused, “When I went to the library, I couldn’t find anything, but the headmistress was able to help me by doing some sort of dream sequence. So I went to her office, we conducted the spell, and I was able to learn at least the figure’s name in my dream.”

“Oh?” Florentyna rose her brows in amusement, “Who is it, then?”

“Some woman named Alyona,” Natalya responded as she glanced towards the sky. It was getting a bit dark, but she kept her eyes out for the guys just in case, “Apparently she was the last guardian fairy of the magic dimension.”

“Ohhh, wait, I know her!” Florentyna began in amazement, “She was the Queen of the magic dimension with King Viktor. One of the biggest royals of all royals in the magic dimension. My parents knew the King and Queen very well before…. well, the tragedy happened,” There was a small shrug now while Florentyna looked ahead, “I was about a year old though when it happened, but the tragedy is always talked in history books.”

“I can tell,” Natalya muttered. Just being in the library when it came to researching about her dream, it was mostly history books that were flying in her direction about the whole tragedy that apparently took place on this planet called Sparx. Despite going through that sequence with Radella, she was happy to at least know the woman’s name…

…But still, she was confused about why this woman was trying to connect and get in contact with her. Again, she didn’t know any Alyona’s at all.

Headlights from a ship above them shined down on the two girls. When seeing this, both Natalya and Florentyna had shielded their eyes to see a large ship beginning to lower in front of them, which was indeed amazing to them. The specialists at UHB always were using technology and ships that no one their age would normally use, which was expected since, after all, they were training to be heroes.

As the ship landed, Natalya and Florentyna waited for a moment to see the door of the ship open. At its entrance, a familiar blonde had been standing there as he waved the two girls to come by, “S’up guys.”

Florentyna slowly began to applaud at the sight of the ship. She was very amazed, but again, not surprised at all to see that the guys knew how to handle it, “Whoa, when Natty said we’d be getting picked up by you guys, I wasn’t expecting this at all.” She had approached the entrance to walk in, “Thanks again.”

“Not a problem at all,” Alfred gave the other a thumbs up of approval before noticing Natalya who had been following just behind Florentyna. Of course, he had reached for the woman and grasped onto her wrist once Florentyna was inside the ship to pull the other close. Natalya looked up at him with her eyes widened, only to be met with a smirk drawn on Alfred’s lips, “I show up all grand and mighty, and you don’t even kiss me hello?”

“You were talking with Florentyna, dumb fuck,” Natalya reached over and patted the other’s cheeks, “I was being polite.”

“Hey, I mean…” The taller male had leaned forward, just to the point where their foreheads had been touching against one another, “If you walked up to me and interrupted my conversation with those gorgeous lips of yours, I wouldn’t be mad at all.”

That was a very sly comment for him to make… Especially since he knew that all it took was some good flirting to get her into that position of wanting to listen to him. And so, Natalya stood there and leaned forward to press her lips against the other in a deep kiss. It wasn’t anything passionate, but a deep enough kiss to show that sign of welcome before she pulled back, “There, happy?”

“Yup.” A chuckle came from Alfred before he had motioned the woman to join the ship inside. It was once Natalya had walked in that he had pressed a button to close the door so they could plan on taking off.

Inside the ship, the two girls were indeed surprised to not only see Gilbert who was piloting the ship but two other men as well. Alfred realized that the girls hadn’t been introduced to his team properly - he had only talked about them before - and so, he had motioned over to them, “These are the two other bafoons that I work with. The blonde with the terrible haircut is Mathias and the guy who smells like Roma tomatoes is Antonio.”

“A terrible haircut?” The male who had been sitting in the co-pilot’s chair glanced over at Alfred with his brows narrowed, “I’ll have you know it takes me a good hour to get this perfect of a hairstyle… But pleasure to meet you, ladies,” 

Laughter could be heard from the men, but not from the women since it seemed to be an inside joke between the entire team. It was Antonio who had gotten up from his seat to approach the girls, holding out a hand to exchange a brief handshake, “A pleasure to meet you both. Alfred talks about you two all the time, especially you,” He began, motioning specifically to Natalya.

This naturally had Natalya blush in response since she didn’t know that Alfred talked about her with his friends. Florentyna on the other hand, gasped after shaking the other’s hand, “A pleasure to meet you as well. I can’t believe you, Alfred,” She looked at him, playfully teasing him, “We’ve known each other for this long and you don’t even talk about me. I see the type of person you are.”

Alfred chuckled now before he approached the two women and wrapped an arm around Natalya, “Yeah yeah yeah, first can we sit down for take-off, and then you can tell about your entire princess life story to everyone.” 

That got Florentyna to go quiet, almost as if she were happy to do so while Natalya glared at her boyfriend right away. Was he crazy? She already had to deal with Florentyna talking about herself for hours on any day, and now he was suggesting that she only continue her cycle?

The group all sat down before Gilbert had sat up to initiate take-off. Once he did, it was indeed a stumbly launch at first, but the group managed to get themselves comfortable as they flew in the direction towards Magix. After all, it would be less than five minutes until they were all to arrive. 

“So you guys are going Christmas shopping?” Gilbert spoke out as he put the aircraft on autopilot before turning to the two girls who were seated in their chairs, “You guys know that everything is ridiculously expensive in Magix, right?”

“Well, we all know that isn’t an issue for Florentyna,” Natalya couldn’t help but to roll her eyes as what sounded like a chuckle came from Alfred, “For myself, that’s why I always go to the clearance side. My family on Earth has nothing magic-related there, so I figured I may as well bring something nice back for them after finals are over.”

“Natalya.” Florentyna looked over at the other with a serious expression, “I love you, but please don’t ever say ‘clearance’ around me again. You know that triggers my anxiety.”

“Over clearance, seriously?!” Mathias couldn’t help but laugh from his seat while watching the skies ahead, “Wait, I forgot you were a princess.”

“Oh haha, real funny.” Florentyna rolled her eyes before going back to scrolling through her phone.

“So Mei’s supposed to meet you guys there, right?” Alfred had asked as he looked at Natalya, to which she nodded in response as approval to his question, “Where specifically? I don’t know if we can drop you guys off right in Magix since we’re on a ship, but we can try to find somewhere close to letting you off.” 

“We’re supposed to be meeting her at this cafe…” Natalya pulled out her phone where she had typed down earlier when speaking with Mei in her class on where to meet her. Once finding the name, she cleared her throat, “Hex Cafe, I believe.”

Silence filled the aircraft the second Natalya had said this. Even Alfred had looked at her with a shocked expression, “Hey babe, can I see your phone for a sec to make sure I heard that correctly?” He had asked, which Natalya naturally handed it over to him without any problem. The second he had read the cafe name, his eyes widened before he handed the device back to her, “Nat, it’s _Thursday_.”

“…Yes, it is..” She began, clearly confused, “Why, what’s wrong?”

“Thursdays at the Hex Cafe is when the witches and warlocks from the University of Dark Arts have their potion brewing activities,” Gilbert spoke out with a bit of amusement to his tone of voice, which indeed brought horror to Natalya and Florentyna’s expressions the second they realized what the guys were talking about, “I’d text Mei right now to tell her to not go there. The second those crazy witches and warlocks see a fairy walk in, I don’t even want to imagine what may happen.”

The second the girls were told this, already, Natalya had scrolled through her phone and instead of texting Mei, she began calling her. She figured calling her would be a better solution since she was sure she would pick-up…

…But no one answered.

The phone that belonged to Mei’s had been lodged in the bottom of her bag set to silence. Usually, when she was by herself, she took this as her opportunity to get some alone time and didn’t want any interruptions. 

During the hour she had waited for Natalya and Florentyna to meet up with her, Mei had done a majority of her shopping. Specifically, picking out items that her own siblings would want back home that wasn’t available in her realm. Mostly some toys, some cute clothes, and some things for herself too because she figured she may as well treat herself for surviving this long into the intense semester of her first year at Lenfia. 

When it was just around quarter after 7, she began to make her way over to the cafe where Natalya and she had discussed meeting during their class earlier. It seemed to be crowded from what she could observe, but all she had to do was take one step in to realize that there was a reason as to why it was crowded.

No one noticed her when she walked in, which was good, because she had immediately stepped right back out upon seeing just how the cafe was crowded of witches, “Gross… What are these crazy people all doing here?” She couldn’t help but wonder. And this was her favorite cafe to get coffee at too… And she knew if she walked in, she would be considered a target for possible spell casting.

After all, it was already an established known fact that dark magical beings could not stand fairies.

“Aw… Now I have to find another cafe to meet at and tell Nat and Florentyna…” There was a small sigh as she said this, clearly frustrated. But there was nothing she could do. She didn’t want to put her friends in danger, and so, she had approached one of the empty tables outside of the cafe to put her belongings down so she could go through her bag to get her phone.

In the middle of her search though, some witches inside the cafe could sense a presence of positive magic. Some of them had been distracted by it while others had continued to participate in the potion making activity that was being held. 

For three witches in particular though, this energy wasn’t siding with them at all.

An annoyed expression came from Gelinda who had been sitting at a table just a few feet away from where Mei was standing with her belongings. She had been originally discussing with the other two witches on what they were to do now that they couldn’t go back to Lenfia… But to see one of the fairies that had gotten them in trouble in the first place being there didn’t make her happy at all.

“No wonder it smells like loser fairy magic,” She had stood up, revealing on their table what looked like to be crystals. It had been the same crystal used before when they were in Lenfia to locate the dragon flame and heart of ice. Instead of participating in the activity that was taking place inside of the cafe, the witches mainly came for the free drinks sponsored by the cafe so they could plan out what their next step of action would be. But now she couldn’t focus.

“What a disgusting surprise…” Aviana agreed with the other who had turned to face where Mei had been standing.

It seemed to be that the fairy hadn’t noticed them, which resulted in Nebula being the one to get up and approach the fairy who seemed to be distracted trying to find her phone. All it took was for one simple shove to the side that had caught Mei’s attention as she turned around, “Hey! Watch where you’re going!—“ She started off, though immediately went silent the second she recognized the faces of the witches. Oh no. 

This wasn’t good.

“My my my, it’s such a rarity to see the fairy of music without her little friends,” Aviana couldn’t help but to speak out as she stood up from her chair with Gelinda to approach the fairy, “And on our territory? Goodness, she’s asking to die by hundreds of witches and warlocks today, isn’t she.”

“Buzz off,” Mei spoke out in defense as she went to retrieve her bags. Oh no, she didn’t want to deal with witches or warlocks, especially these three witches, “I was just leaving.”

“No you’re not,” Gelinda put an arm out in front of the fairy and lingered over her; a crazed look drawn to her expression, “Not until you tell us why you decided to come to our territory. Everyone knows this cafe is booked for witches and warlocks on Thursdays.”

“I was passing through, Gelinda.” Mei had snapped back at the other and pushed past her arm with her belongings, “Screw off, won’t you? Besides, last time I remembered, this is a public cafe. I got what I needed so leave me alone and go back to doing, I don’t know, witchy things.” 

Just as she was walking away though, Nebula had caught up to her and grabbed onto her wrist. Within seconds of doing this, Mei’s eyes widened in horror as the witch jerked her back, “Nuh-uh. Tradition has it that the second a fairy steps onto witches turf, we get to do whatever we want to her.” 

“That’s right,” Gelinda agreed with the other and approached Nebula; standing just beside her while continuing to glare down at Mei, “Plus, you want to know what happened after that night at Lenfia? We got detention for a week. A whole week. And I missed doing my homework because of it,” Her hands turned into a small fist, “And I want revenge from you and your little fairy friends for allowing us to get caught.”

A bit of amusement formed on Mei’s face when she heard this, “Uhm… Sorry to burst your bubble, Gelinda,” She began with a small shrug, “I, nor did any of us, snitch on you. You kind of broke in when no one was at the school and walked into that trap of getting caught on your own. If I were on a mission, I’d have a better plan than just walking in and figuring it out as you go.”

What sounded like a gasp came from Aviana when she heard this, trying to hold back her laughter because well… Mei did have a point there. The laughter, however, wasn’t welcomed nicely at all by Gelinda as the witch slammed her fist against one of the windows of the cafe, “Shut the fuck up!” She snapped at the witch and glared right back at Mei, “Listen you little shit, I’m going to make sure I teach a lesson in front of the entire third-year class of the Tower of the Dead on why pixies like you don’t get away with getting us in trouble.”  


The threat indeed didn’t phase Mei at all. If anything, she stood there with a bit of an amused expression before she looked over at Aviana and Nebula, “…She always like this?” She began with a giggle before clapping her hands; the bags that had her belongings immediately disappearing so she didn’t have to carry them. The items that she had bought of course, were safely transported to her room back at Lenfia before she took a step back, “Alright, Gelinda. You want to fight me, I’ll give you a fight…

_…But you have to catch me first._ ”

The second she had said this, Mei had begun sprinting from the area, resulting in the witches standing there in disbelief. Gelinda, who was angered enough by the presence of the fairy looked at Aviana and Nebula, “Tell everyone we’ve got some fairy to kill. I’m going after her,” She began, which the two immediately had run into the cafe to announce that there was a fairy on their grounds.

The situation was that Mei had no idea where she was running to. She didn’t want to fight any witches, but she technically did initiate the fight by daring Gelinda to make a move on her. As she ran, she took this as her time to reach for her phone; running past people as she shouted, “Excuse me! Pardon me, crazy witch, after me!” All while she dialed Natalya. She saw the other had called her, which meant she was probably close to the cafe and had to warn her.

For Natalya and Florentyna, the men had been in the process of trying to find a place to park the ship while struggling to get in contact with Mei. After all, they were in a city, so the parking process would take a few minutes. Though when Natalya had seen her phone light up, she had answered it quickly, “Mei?”

“Hey, guys!” Mei spoke through her phone while panting, “You guys aren’t going to believe what I ran into! There are witches at the Hex Cafe!” 

“Yeah…” Natalya began with a sigh, wondering if the other had realized the truth, “We know. That’s why we were trying to call you to warn you. Are you okay?” 

“Nope!” She was honest in her response, which instantly, resulted in concern and worry-filled Florentyna’s expression as she looked at the phone, “Actually, quite the opposite. Gelinda, Nebula, and Aviana found me, so now they’re chasing me…. And I’m pretty sure they’re going to try to kill me for something they got in trouble in.”

These words weren’t reassuring to Natalya nor Florentyna at all. It was when hearing this that Natalya looked over at Gilbert, “Find a parking place yet?”

“Yup, we’re about to land now,” Gilbert gave the woman a thumbs up, now mainly focused on landing the ship. Where they had been parking had been an alleyway that had enough space for the girls to get off before they had to go to their mission.

“Okay Mei, I’m going to send you some coordinates,” Natalya began as she put the phone onto speaker; pressing a few buttons to send a location to Mei’s phone, “We’re close to the cafe. The guys are here, just come to us and if the witches follow… Well, they’ll be running into an ambush with us.”

“Sounds great! I’ll see you soon!” Mei had continued to pant while she ran. The second she heard a notification sound from her phone, she had opened up the maps application to see exactly where the said ship was located. It was only a two-minute walk away from where she was, but if she sprinted fast enough, she could get there quicker. She turned her head around though for a second, indeed noticing that there wasn’t just one witch following her…

…But it seemed to be a herd of witches and warlocks. 

Did Gelinda really brag to the entire third-year class that there was a fairy? “Honestly, these witches will do anything if they see a fairy,” She huffed, now putting her phone away so she could focus on running.

“Get back here, you little fairy!” Gelinda had called out; flying directly at her with an angered look on her expression, “I’m going to bring your head back to your little friends and show them what happens if they mess with witches like us!” 

The thought of hearing those words brought a sense of discomfort to Mei’s stomach. These witches would really go the lines to actually killing her for not even doing anything in the first place. She was a fairy, that was the problem with them. And all witches and warlocks hated fairies. They didn’t even take a second to judge the second it was discovered a magical being secretly had wings.

In her hands, she had been holding onto her phone with the map of coordinates that Natalya had sent her. With her fast running, it wasn’t long until she had found the corner of the alleyway that she could see a ship in the process of being landed. Relief practically filled her body when she saw the ship land and the entrance of it open to reveal Natalya and Florentyna rushing outside, as well as for Gilbert, Alfred… And two other specialists?

“Perfect timing,” Mei began with heavy pants, which Natalya and Florentyna had rushed over to her to see if she was okay, “These witches were right on my tail…” She looked over at the two new men and rose a brow, “Oh, I’m Mei.”

“Antonio,” The darker-skinned male looked at the black-haired girl in confusion, “Pleasure to meet you,”

“And I’m apparently the guy with a bad haircut according to this asshole,” Mathias had huffed, glaring at Alfred who was smirking, “I’m joking. Name’s Mathias,”

“Nice to meet the rest of the crew,” Mei managed to catch her breath as she stood up straight, “Sorry for pulling you guys into this situation—“

“—WHERE IS SHE!?” Loud shouting could be heard from just a corner, which had the group go on guard the second they had all recognized the voice that belonged to Gelinda.

Oh yes, that witch sounded pissed alright.

Turning the corner, what the group of fairies and specialists hadn’t been expecting to encounter was the sight of not only Gelinda, Nebula, and Aviana, but what seemed to be almost thirty witches and warlocks all radiating with negative, powerful energy. The sight would make any fairy faint, but of course, Natalya and Florentyna had stood in front of Mei out of defense for the other.

“What…?” Aviana had recognized the group when seeing all their faces, “Natalya!? Florentyna!? What the fuck are they doing here?!”

“Stopping you guys from starting any bloodshed,” Florentyna had begun with a scoff to her tone of voice, “Did you really think you’d get away harassing one of our friends?”

“No one invited you to be here,” Nebula responded, her eyes twitching in anger since the last thing she wanted was to deal with more specialists and fairies, “And it’s RSVP.”

“RSVP my Russian ass,” Natalya rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, rolling her r’s in the process of doing so to indeed get her point across in the Russian language she grew up in. She wasn’t afraid of the crowd of witches at all, “Just fuck off already. You always start these fights, which is why you always get in trouble.”

The talking back that came from Natalya indeed angered the three witches. For someone like her from Earth speaking out to powerful figures such as them, it made them feel disrespected. Gelinda glared right at her before holding her hands up and giving a small snap to them, “Fine. We’ll just pick off two more fairies and a couple of specialists. More fun for us.”

The second the witch had snapped her fingers, this was the cue for the third year witches and warlocks to go flying at the ship with attacks already prepared in place. The second the fairies had seen this, Natalya and Florentyna had held their hands with one another while their free hands stuck out.

“ _Barrius Protectus!”_

The two fairies had shouted a spell that formed a barrier around them, holding off any attacks that were being sent in their direction. Seeing that no damage was being made by the barrier as the fairies held it onwards, Gelinda could feel her anger only continuing to pick up.

“This is REALLY starting to piss me off!” Gelinda exclaimed as the environment around them suddenly began to pick up in wind.

If there was one thing that should never be done, it was angering a witch.

The second Gelinda’s powers had begun to pick up, lightning formed around the area which had indeed caught the attention of the specialists and fairies. 

There was no time to waste now.

The second Natalya and Florentyna had seen this, they knew what to do. They let go of each other’s hands while Mei had run up to them; the three fairies standing in place before all closing their eyes and letting out the one word to signal their true powers.

“ _Charmix!"_

As the word was said aloud, a bright light formed around all of them to begin the transformation sequence. It was less than a second for them to change their appearances, but once they stepped forward, the casual clothing that was once on their bodies had turned into beautiful outfits and gorgeous wings had grown to their back. 

Natalya had stood in front of Florentyna and Mei; two flames forming in the palms of her hand as her attire consisted of her normal fairy appearance. A tiara on her head, her hair grown a bit of length but curled at the ends with golden glitter decorated along the strands, a sparkling light blue crop top and skirt with a gem on her chest while her feet wore blue ankle-lengthed boots and her arms had light blue sleeves that cut off at her elbow. A beautiful pair of wings shaped in the similar geometry of a butterfly's wings were present as well.

In her hands, Florentyna had been holding onto her scepter in a way of using it as protection. Her hair had been pulled back into two low pigtails that were curled at the end slightly while on the top of her head she wore a blue headband. On her body, she wore a sparkling orange, one-sleeved crop top and a pair of shorts with matching knee-lengthed boots. On her wrists, she wore bracelets made out of silver while two wings were grown on her back.

Mei had stood there with her arms crossed, clearly not afraid for what the witches had planned on attacking them with. Her long black hair had also been pulled back into pigtails, much higher than Florentyna’s while on the top of her head she wore a pair of headphones. Her outfit, being a symbol of her realm, had been in the shade of a sparkling red top and skirt while on her upper arms, a purple ribbon was present. Just like the other two, a pair of wings had grown on her back as well.

The lightning only continued to increase after the fairies had transformed into their true appearance. It was with that, Gelinda had held her hands up to direct the lighting right at them as the anger continued to fill her expression, “Let’s get this show over with, ladies.”

Seeing the lighting being shot at their direction had all of the fairies jump directly into the air. This attack was dodged by them, before soon Nebula had flown in to redirect the same attack on the girls, “Oh no, I want to see these fairies turn into little fried pixies from this.” 

The lightning bolt that was missed immediately redirected itself at the fairies. This of course, had them all flying in different directions where Natalya had hidden in a corner, and Florentyna had hidden behind a nearby car. Despite hiding, this didn’t stop the fact from the lighting hitting directly at the car Florentyna was hiding behind, resulting in a shriek and a burst of magic to come from the fairy.

“Florentyna!” Mei had shouted out in concern before flying at her direction to see if the other was okay. From what she saw, it seemed to be that she had cast a protection spell so the lighting didn’t hit the car and instead of her magic. 

Aviana didn’t like seeing the sight though of Mei flying over to check on her little friend. The witches were still angered at the fairy of music for stepping onto their turf, which resulted in the witch to appear directly in front of Mei with an evil smirk grown to her lips, “I don’t think so, fairy.”

The new voice caught Mei off guard as she looked at the direction of where it was coming from. That was when she saw Aviana hold her hands out, launching what looked like a orb of dark magic right at her direction. She didn’t have a chance to react though, resulting in her taking the hit as she fell unconscious and hit the ground with a loud thud.

In the midst of the fight going on between Aviana and Mei, Natalya had been in her own battle with Nebula who seemed to have been launching attacks without realizing it. It didn’t help too that Natalya at one point had decided to hide, which when she was found, had Natalya come out of her corner to rush in.

“What is this earth girl still doing here anyway!? You don’t even belong here, pixie!” Nebula had shouted at Natalya’s direction as dark orbs of magic had filled her hands. Before long, the magic was launched right at her, which had formed what looked like sharp spears being sent in her direction. 

“ _Protectus_!” Natalya had shouted so the attack wouldn’t hit her, once again, another barrier forming around her before she had held her own hands into the air. She normally didn’t want to get into fighting, but now these witches were really starting to test her own patience, “Alright Nebula, I wasn’t going to fight, but you asked for it,” Her hands were formed into fists at the air around them slowly grew colder. 

A bright light had formed in Natalya’s eyes as she did this before soon long, she had held her hands out and a burst of magic had flown from the palms of her hands right at the direction of the witch, “ _Freezer burn!”_

Blue flames came come the fairy and hit directly against the witch’s chest. This attack wasn’t just to knock her out, but mainly it was one that would make it feel like the attack was similar to being hit by dry ice. 

One witch down… Over thirty to go. 

Natalya looked around for a moment to notice that the specialists had been off dealing with the third year witches that had been sending their attacks at them. Though at one point, she noticed that a few witches had managed to flank behind Alfred, which Natalya felt her eyes widen as she rushed over and pushed Alfred out of the way before they could attack him, “ _Barrier of flame!”_

A wall of fire had immediately sparked from the ground the second she had pushed Alfred out of the way, thus preventing the witches from getting close to the specialists. Alfred was shocked when this had happened and caught himself from hitting the ground, but with a smile, he looked at his girlfriend in reassurance, “Thanks, babe.” 

“Always,” Natalya gave him a small air kiss before jumping into the air. There was a bigger issue at hand that she had to take care of, which started off with checking on her friends.

However, just as she was about to go check on Florentyna and Mei, there was one thing that she had forgotten… And that was the presence of Gelinda, who had been right behind her with an attack ready.

“ _Piercus icius.”_

The voice from Gelinda was low as sparking magic came flying from her hands and had hit Natalya directly on the back. A painful cry came from the girl as she took the hit, resulting in her body to be slammed directly onto the ground while loud laughter ensued from the witch.

“Natalya!” Florentyna had noticed this right away and crawled from behind the car, rushing over to see if the other was okay.

Which to her surprise… She was shocked to see that despite taking a huge hit, Natalya was already pushing herself back up from the ground, “I’m okay, I’m okay,” She whispered to the other. Her tone of voice showed that she was in pain, but for now, Natalya’s priority was to protect the ones she cared about.

And that was specifically Mei who did not seem to be in a good position at all.

“Let’s play my favorite game,” Aviana had spoken out; her eyes fully black in darkness as her hands were held out. 

Magic filled the area before soon what looked like empty cards began making their direction over Mei’s body that had been limp on the ground. With a few hand movements, the cars had complied all into one before it hovered over Mei who had been struggling to get up.

“Never thought I’d be doing this with a fairy, but…” Aviana smirked as she held her hands out now to direct the cars, “But looks like I’ll be squashing some little fairy today with this trick.”

Seeing the cars slowly beginning to lower over Mei’s body had Natalya’s eyes widen in horror. No no no-! The witch was actually going to kill her if no one did anything. The specialists were busy fighting the other third-year witches while she and Florentyna were attempting to avoid any more attacks from Gelinda. 

“Mei!” Natalya had flown up to the air despite her current state of pain, going directly to the cars so she could at least try to grab her. 

Gelinda didn’t like seeing this though. As she saw the fairy fly over, she had flown herself quickly over as well in front of Natalya and held her arms out, preventing her from taking one step closer, “Move one more inch Natalya, and I’ll make sure Mei’s death is very slow and painful. Your friend is done for.”

“Get out of my way, Gelinda!” She had shouted in response. Those words came from the witch… Truly angered Natalya then and there. The fact that the witches were picking on them, trying to start these fights to the point where they were actually going to try and kill them? 

She wouldn’t allow that at all.

“No…” Her hands were shaking now in anger as flames began to form in between them. In one fist, a firey one, while in the other, it had been an icy one. As she did this, she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them to reveal a bright light that replaced the violet-blue pupils that belonged to her, “… _I said, get out of my way!”_

The powerful magic that radiated from the fairy was something that Gelinda couldn’t help but to feel her eyes widen to. Not because of how angered Natalya looked, but the fact that she radiated an energy that was very familiar to her. She looked over at Nebula who seemed to have been in the process of slowly getting up before shouting, “Nebula! Take out the crystals!”

This confused the witch who was on the ground. If anything, Nebula was more focused on the pain that radiated through her body until she had heard Gelinda’s request. Once she was off the ground, she had held her hands out to form the crystal that they had once been using in Lenfia to conduct their search…

…And that was when the witch saw it.

The crystal was reacting by flashing over and over again. Though compared to Lenfia, it had become much more active to the point where it looked like it was about to explode, “Holy shit…” She had gasped as she looked up at Gelinda, “It’s her! She’s the one!” 

The conversation that was going on between the two witches didn’t stop Natalya from unleashing her attack. She had felt her teeth grinding and eyes full of anger as she held her hands up into the air. Soon, what appeared to be a bright source of magic filling the air surrounded her. 

_It is alive. You know what to say._

The voice came to her head once more. Yes, she knew exactly what to say as she had thrown her hands right at Gelinda and Aviana’s direction, followed by shouting aloud in the process of doing so;

“ _The flame of the dragon and ice that comes from the heart banishes you witches away from this city!”_

A loud blast had come from the fairy as this was said aloud, resulting in both Gelinda and Aviana to go flying back away from the angered fairy. As Natalya had conducted this spell, everyone had looked into the air where they had seen the bright magic fill the air to the point where all of their eyes were shielded.

“What is going on!?” Gilbert shouted in between the brightness.

“I don’t know!” Alfred responded while he lowered his sword and shield, “It’s Natalya!” 

The light only continued to grow more and more around Natalya’s body. As she rose herself into the air when initiating the attack, it was almost as if a powerful sun had welcomed the city of Magix. Positive, powerful energy radiated the entire city to the point where citizens who were walking miles away from the fight could see the glowing orb of magic fill the entire environment. 

“I’ve… never seen a power like that before,” Mathias couldn’t help but to speak out in amazement as he looked towards the sky, wishing he had his sunglasses, “That’s your girlfriend, Alfred?” 

“…Yeah.” Alfred began in response, speechless beyond words from what he was seeing, “This is some sort of powerful energy that’s just… Beyond for any fairy.” 

Anger was still filled in Natalya’s body as she conducted the spell. Though the second it had hit the witches, specifically Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula, they were all gone. Just as the spell had said, the fairy had managed to banish the witches to a different area outside of the city. Even the witches from the Tower of the Dead who had participated in the fight had already begun to make their ways away from the environment, not wanting to be involved with whatever Natalya was doing.

The energy soon came to an end the second the witches had disappeared. But mainly, it had been very draining for Natalya, that she had slowly lowered herself to the ground before collapsing onto her knees, taking in a few deep breaths. It was with another glow that her fairy form had disappeared, turning her back into a regular human.

“Natalya!” Alfred had put his weapons away at this point and sprinted over to the other; dropping to his knees to see if she was hurt or anything, “Are you alright?”

Despite feeling exhausted, Natalya had no idea what was going on. All she remembered was getting so furious at Gelinda that instead of blowing up in anger, her powers had taken over her body for a moment and she unleashed herself. She looked up at Alfred, who had been holding out a hand to help her up, “…What?” She blinked for a moment, clearly confused.

Did… She not know what had just happened? There was a bit of concern on Alfred’s face, but it didn’t stop her from helping her up and glancing over at his team who already had been taking care of bringing Florentyna and Mei towards their ship. To say the least, their mission would have to wait a while as he helped Natalya walk over to the entrance, keeping one arm around her body in support. 

He had pressed a button on the watch he wore before bringing it up to his face, “Hey, this is team 678-136. We’re going to have to abort the mission, there was an emergency in Magix that we had to take care of. We’ll be returning to campus in the next hour.” Once he was finished with that, he pressed the button to turn off the signaling device on his wrist before proceeding onwards to the ship.

Florentyna wasn’t faded at all, but from taking on a huge battle such as that, she was exhausted as she settled down in one of the seats offered by the specialists. All it took was one snap of her fingers for her own fairy form to disappear before soon she was back in her human attire, “That was insanity,” She began, now noticing Mathias bringing her a glass of water as she thanked him and took it.

“My head hurts as a bullet train went through it…” Mei was awake after a moment, seeing that knock-out had her build up a bit of energy. She had also snapped her fingers in which her fairy form disappeared before she sat down, looking over at Natalya who looked clearly more exhausted than she and Florentyna did, “All I remember was I was about to become a pancake, and Natalya just… Exploded.”

“Exploded is an understatement,” Alfred responded and approached the back of the ship; looking over the variety of potions that were present. He had taken three of them, mainly used to give energy and strength to those who were exhausted and injured before handing one to each fairy. Natalya, of course, was still silent as she sat there, trying to process everything that had happened, “Here hun, take this.”

The potion was placed into her hand as she stared at it. It looked like any other potion, which Natalya had opened up the bottle and began drinking from it. Just as with anything with magic, the potion worked its charms within seconds as her eyes widened, clearly from feeling better after it, “Thanks… I feel a whole lot better.”

“Well, you may feel better, but you don’t look good at all Natty,” Florentyna commented after finishing her glass of water, “Not as an insult, but you look really tired. What happened to you back there?” 

“Yeah!” Gilbert looked over at Natalya, clearly still amazed by what he had seen, “You had an insane amount of power. Do you realize that? You could’ve wiped the entire city of Magix, but you managed to wipe out like thirty witches and warlocks instead.”

The mentioning of having insane power didn’t make sense at all to Natalya. If anything, she didn’t think of her as having powerful magic. She shook her head in disagreement, “I don’t know what happened,” She spoke out truthfully, “All I remember was being very pissed off at Gelinda, and I sort of… Snapped. I had no idea what I was saying too.”

“That’s so interesting,” Mei had sat up from her seat and brought a finger to her chin, thinking for a moment, “It’s like your powers evolved or something just based on emotion to a completely higher level… My personal suggestion is maybe mentioning it to the Professors at Lenfia when we get back because it’s seriously amazing.”

“Well, we should be back at Lenfia in the next ten minutes,” Gilbert spoke out, already preparing for the ship so they could take off and begin the travel back, “I know you guys mentioned going out shopping, but after that, I think you guys should wait a bit.”

“Aw come on…” Florentyna began with a small pout, “And I totally wanted to get this brand new hat I saw online.”

“You almost get murdered by witches,” Natalya cleared her throat and glanced over at the other, “And all you care about is a damn hat?” 

“Listen, I’m okay,” Florentyna reassured the other as she stood up; already finishing the potion Alfred had gave her with a large smirk to her face, “So this weekend I’m going to go get it, in the name of my closet needs a new hat. And maybe getting you a nice blouse too because I cannot look at you with those clearance clothing on.” 

Laughter could be heard from the ship the second she had said this. Florentyna was confused, but alas, even Natalya was laughing because what could anyone do at this point? This was Florentyna they were talking too - a princess who still had her own priorities and needs. 

“Well, let’s get you guys back,” Alfred placed a hand on top of Natalya’s head when seeing her beginning to laugh. This caught her attention as she looked up, only to be greeted by his charming smile,

“Then you guys can worry about your Christmas shopping.”

* * *

_“Augh, I broke a nail during that fight!”_

Being launched away from the city from the spell that was cast had resulted in the witches to be flown directly back to the Tower of the Dead. The campus wasn’t active seeing that it was the evening, where students were most likely still in their classes or with their own covens completing assignments.

“I still can’t believe we were defeated by a first-year fairy,” Aviana glared over at Nebula who seemed to have been picking on her nails. There was an eye roll, clearly indicating that she didn’t care while they continued to walk ahead, “I hope it doesn’t ruin our reputation.”

“It doesn’t matter…” Since leaving Magix, a devilish grin had been present on Gelinda’s face the entire time. That one battle was enough for them to figure out the one thing they had been searching for that entire semester… And it came out, right then and there to attack them, “Not even one bit.”

The entire time, they were wrong about the ring. There was no essence of the dragon flame and heart of ice present in the Solis’ ring that belonged to Florentyna. They struggled for weeks, researching the possibilities of where any source of the power could be. Seeing Natalya blow up like that in anger, her chanting those words instinctively while conducting a spell that no first-year fairy should ever know. 

The second Nebula had pulled out the crystal to read Natalya’s powers during her attack, that was all Gelinda needed to make an assumption. There was a rumor that scattered throughout books that the dragon flame and heart of ice never died. That the former guardian fairy had a plan and was successful. The reason why no one was able to find the source of the dragon flame and heart of ice was because it was presumed dead. No one would believe it if all of a sudden, this girl from Earth possessed the powers... Yet...

...This lingered the question in Gelinda’s mind; was Natalya _really_ from Earth this whole time? 

“We figured out who has the dragon flame and heart of ice,” She spoke in a lowered tone as they walked inside the tower, not wanting any other students to overhear their conversation, “And from the one individual who I never thought would ever have it…”

“How is that even possible though?” Aviana looked at Gelinda with her brows narrowed just a tad, “She’s from Earth. She couldn’t have just had the dragon flame and heart of ice this entire time.” 

“That’s where I think you’re wrong, dear sister,” Gelinda followed-up her statement before they had approached a door to the third-year suites. The door was opened to reveal a staircase as they all began to walk up, “We did our reading. Any former guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice always had a back-up plan if their powers were in danger. There was nothing in the readings about destroying it… The only way to get rid of the power is if an heir was to inherit it.”

Silence came from the two witches when Gelinda had said this. Mostly from being speechless from what the witch was suggesting, but now it began to all make sense.

“The Queen had children, right?” Walking down the hallways of the suites, they had eventually reached their room where Gelinda had pulled out a key to open the door to walk in, “The only body that was found of the royal family was the King, and he was confirmed deceased. That means those children disappeared, but aren’t confirmed dead in record.”

“Gelinda…” Nebula had closed the door when they all walked into the room, locking the door before turning her head to the other, “What are you suggesting?”

The large smirk had increased on Gelinda’s face as she approached the books that they had all checked out from their university’s library. She had picked up one book, in particular, this pertaining to the history of the magic dimension, “Heirs have to be _blood_ descents to inherit the dragon flame and heart of ice. And in this book,” She had opened up to a particular page, now tossing the book onto the bed for the other two witches to see the text, “There were three children. The oldest was a daughter was eight years old, the second oldest was a son at four, and the youngest was a newborn daughter. When the destruction on Sparx happened, their bodies weren't found. They were all declared missing and are _still_ missing to this day. Then all these years later, this random girl from Earth comes out of nowhere and she has the dragon flame and heart of ice? It all makes sense now!”

Silence came from the witches once more. Aviana had picked up the book that Gelinda had tossed out, reading the text as she listened. It was true… The information was all there about the former royal family. 

“Ladies, I think we’ve just made a huge discovery about what Alyona did with the powers,” Gelinda sat down on the edge of the bed, letting out a bit of laughter in amazement, “She passed on her powers to her daughter, hoping that she would stay on Earth so no one could find it. _But_ , fate declared it otherwise and had her come back to the magic dimension," Laughter filled the room as she held her arms up, almost victorious when realizing the discovery, "It's working right into our plan of taking over! We’re going to steal the dragon flame and heart of ice from her, rule all planets of the magic dimension with the ultimate powers of this entire universe, AND do the ONE thing our ancestors _weren't_ able to succeed with seventeen years ago! The best part of it all?…

_…Natalya doesn’t even know that she’s one of the missing children of the Braginsky family!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've made it to chapter 6!
> 
> Crazy shit really is starting to pick up. C: Trust me, you do not want to miss the next upcoming chapters. 
> 
> Finals are still around the corner for me, so please expect chapter 7 on 5/13/2020 ! Who knows, maybe I'll be able to get it up earlier just like this chapter (a whole week earlier than I thought I would, haha).
> 
> I hope you enjoy and see you soon!


	8. Finals at Lenfia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silence came from the witches once more. Aviana had picked up the book that Gelinda had tossed out, reading the text as she listened. It was true… The information was all there about the former royal family.
> 
> “Ladies, I think we’ve just made a huge discovery about what Alyona did with the powers,” Gelinda sat down on the edge of the bed, letting out a bit of laughter in amazement, “She passed on her powers to her daughter, hoping that she would stay on Earth so no one could find it. But, fate declared it otherwise and had her come back to the magic dimension," Laughter filled the room as she held her arms up, almost victorious when realizing the discovery, "It's working right into our plan of taking over! We’re going to steal the dragon flame and heart of ice from her, rule all planets of the magic dimension with the ultimate powers of this entire universe, AND do the ONE thing our ancestors weren't able to succeed with seventeen years ago! The best part of it all?…
> 
> …Natalya doesn’t even know that she’s one of the missing children of the Braginsky family!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW WARNING: 18+ Content ahead! If you are not comfortable with smut, this is your WARNING. Feel free to skip it... Unless your an AmeBel fan, this one is for you. ;)

The sun had been radiating over Lenfia’s campus on that Wednesday afternoon. Students had been rushing back and forth for their exams while those who had already finished their exams were already off rushing to return to their own planets for the winter break. Finals season was taking place for all colleges of Magix, where the men at the University of Heroics and Bravery were having their skills tested, the witches from the University of Dark Arts were having their elixirs tested, and fairies at Lenfia College were having their magic abilities put into knowledge-based and physical tests.

That morning was one of the first physical-based exams to take place. Monday and Tuesday had focused primarily on the handwritten assessments to analyze the spells and potions fairies were taught, while Wednesdays and Thursdays were reserved for the physical combat exams. 

First-year students of Lenfia were all gathered in an auditorium. While all students were seated in their reserved spots, only one student at a time would be going up with a minute to conduct this exam.

The exam was a test of heroics. For any fairy that planned on pursuing the lifestyle as a guardian fairy had the meet the expectations of doing anything in their power to protect the people of their planet. It was a simple test, where an orb with a rose inside would symbolize the human. The fairy was expected to pick up the orb and carry it to a designated area that reserved as the planet. However, it wouldn’t be as easy as picking it up and carrying it over, as the headmistress would be in charge of initiating obstacles to purposely mess the fairy up.

“This laser beam obstacle course will serve as the first part of your final exam on combat and instinctive skills,” The Headmistress had been standing on top of a podium where a panel of professors had been present to take notes. With all the students present, it was anxiety-inducing to see such powerful figures judging together in order to determine their grade for the course.

The worse part? Headmistress Radella had the final say as well if they passed. 

“You will have one minute to retrieve the orb with the rose, this symbolizing who you are rescuing, and returning them to their planet which will be served through the container at the other side of the floor,” As the older woman explained this, she had motioned towards the ground. Already, there were traps set out that stuck out to most fairies, but there were more traps to be initiated later on by her, “We will be going by alphabetical order.” 

As she had said this, a bright glow had formed in her hands to form a list. Radella had adjusted her glasses to look over the names, before noticing something quite interesting. She looked up at the crowd, already telling how most of the students were nervous until she located the one face she was looking for.

“ _Natalya Arlovskaya. You’re first.”_

Hearing her name be called out had Natalya’s eyes widen on the spot. Her friends who had been sitting beside her were also shocked. This wasn’t new at all. The professors always went alphabetical order for any exam - it was the same with midterms too. 

The blonde had stood up from her seat as she walked over to the middle of the auditorium. Clearly, she was very unamused at the fact that she had to be the first amongst over a hundred other first-years, but she supposed that’s what she got for having a last name that started with A. 

She looked up at the podium where her eyes had made eye contact with the Professors present. They all knew her just as she knew them since after all, she was taking some of their exams the previous day. 

Radella had cleared her throat to continue onwards with her explanation before closing the document she had in and, “On deck, we have Rosalina Audi. Please make your way down to the auditorium so you can conduct your exam after Natalya’s,” She began, which resulted in another fairy who had been sitting in the audience to take her down to the ground. The format that the faculty had in place was to make sure that the exam was quick. After all, they had over a hundred students in the room and they wanted to get through all of it quickly.

“Now Natalya, as a refresher from the review,” As Radella had said this, she had glanced down at the younger woman who had been looking up at her to listen, “There are a lot of obstacles and traps set up. If you get hit by three of them, you will fail.”

“Oh my gosh, that’s so harsh…” Mei couldn’t help but whisper in a gasp to Monika, Florentyna, and Tatyana who had been sitting with her, “Three hits and it’s done with?”

“Yup,” Florentyna nodded. The thing was that since she had been repeating her first year at Lenfia, she already knew what to expect from the exam, “You have to really keep your eyes out on anything. Headmistress Radella controls all the obstacles and will purposely try to hit you. I failed my first time, and well, you guys saw what happened with me.” 

“Are you ready, Natalya?” The Headmistress had spoken out to the other, her expression with a serious look on her face.

The question had been met with a nod by Natalya as she took in a breath. Since this was a combat specific exam, she had taken a step forward and closed her eyes to focus her powers. A bright glow formed around her body now as the transformation sequence had taken place, “ _…Charmix_ ,” She had whispered under her breath before within seconds, her entire appearance had changed to the familiar beautiful outfit, tiara, and pair of wings that had grown on her back. Everyone in the auditorium had watched in amazement while the panel of professors had already prepared their writing utensils to take notes.

Once she was fully transformed, Natalya had walked over to the middle of the auditorium where an X had been placed on the ground. She stood right on top of it and glanced over at the Headmistress, giving her another nod, “I’m ready, headmistress."

There was a smirk on the woman’s lips when she heard this. With a snap of her fingers, a timer had appeared above the Professor’s heads with the marker set at 60 seconds. All it took was for Radella to snap her fingers before the timer went off, “Go then!”

The timer starting off so quickly caught Natalya off guard, which was her first mistake. The second Radella had said go, underneath her, the X had disappeared and soon what looked like a pool of black oozing liquid had formed underneath her. She had caught this immediately and jumped into the air; flying as she did so with her mindset specifically being towards the orb with the rose.

Going up into the air though, the exam once again took another turn with what looked like a ray of lights forming from the ceiling. One ray had been going right at her direction, resulting in Natalya to dodge by lowering herself to the ground and jumping backward. The good thing about being physical after taking ballet, gymnastics, and ice skating all throughout her childhood and teen years, it made her prepared to take extreme jumps such as these. 

However, what she hadn’t been expecting was for another light to come from behind, which didn’t give her the chance to dodge as she gasped and leaped forward on the ground to dodge… But alas, it had touched her ankle.

“That’s one, Natalya!” The headmistress had called out her first hit, resulting in the girl getting up, “You have forty-five seconds left.” 

She already had wasted fifteen seconds from just dodging obstacles. When she and her friends had been talking the previous night about this one physical exam, Florentyna wasn’t joking about how hard it was. Especially since it was Radella administrating it, she was going to go full out on the first-years just to see if they were prepared for the second-semester training! 

Natalya got up from her spot and took in a breath. Now she really needed to catch the orb if she wanted to pass. The orb wasn’t even far from her at all, which she waited for a moment for the ray of lights to form before she had flown into the air and leaped forward. 

The orb that was midair floating was grasped onto her, to which she had held it onto her chest in a hug before falling to the ground in a roll. What she hadn’t been expecting though was for that one roll to have her hit another ray of light against her back, which had her eyes widen in panic.

“That’s two, Natalya!” Once again, the Headmistress’ voice filled her ears while the fairy got up from the ground with the orb in hand, “One more hit and it’s done. You have thirty seconds left.”

Thirty seconds… That was enough time for her to bring the orb to the container. The container, which was just opposite was her had been a floating cast midair. This was the ‘planet’ she would have to bring the ‘human’ back to in order to rescue them. Being in the air now, Natalya had flown towards the container with no hesitation.

As expected, Radella had purposely set up rays of lights to be directed right at Natalya to see how much she could dodge them. Each beam came straight at her, resulting in Natalya to jump and fly around as many as she could. To her surprise, she had made it to the container and was about to put the orb inside it… All until she could feel something dripping above her.

Just before she got to the container, it seemed that Radella had held out her hand and cast a spell as another obstacle. In this case, this spell had resulted in what looked to be a large body of water over her head that was immediately beginning to fall down.

That was when Natalya’s instincts had gone into full gear.

The orb with the rose was placed into the container, where she had shut it before she lowered herself to the ground and held her hands up into the air. A bright orb filled in between her palms signifying that she was using her powers as she took in a deep breath and let out the enchantment;

“ _Freeze!”_

The body of water that was just about to splash over her, just an inch over her head now, had frozen into ice in midair. The audience of students gasped when this had happened, but Natalya remained calm as the frozen block of ice had been lowered to the ground. The timer above the Professor’s heads had frozen at around eight seconds left, to where Natalya waited to see what would happen.

Since the exam portion was complete, now it was up for the headmistress and Professors to decide her grade. Natalya was absolutely silent in anticipation with the audience of first-year fairies, which was probably the longest twenty-seconds of her life. When the Professors were finished, a sheet of paper was handed to the headmistress who had stepped over to the podium and cleared her throat.

“Natalya, you took two hits out of three during the sixty seconds,” Radella had spoken in a serious tone of voice, “But, you managed to complete the mission with eight seconds to spare. Congratulations young lady, you passed your final with an A. You may go take a seat now.”

What felt like relief filled her expression as Natalya stood there. But what she couldn’t help but hear was the cheering that came from her friends while she walked over to them, which within seconds, they were all hugging her and extending their congratulations to her for passing probably one of the hardest exams they were to take as a first-year.

“Alright ladies, now that you know what to expect for this exam,” Radella cleared her throat which got the cheering to silence, “Rosaline is up next, and can I please have the next one on deck.” 

This was the format of how this final had taken place for the rest of the morning. One by one, each fairy of the first-year class had gone up to present their skills in front of the Professors and Headmistress to determine whether or not they pass. A handful had passed in addition to a handful failing. Which to Natalya, she didn’t think it was fair having to announce if a student failed in front of their class. It was embarrassing… But she wouldn’t question the teaching methods.

Though what came as a major surprise was that after struggling during her first year, for the first time, Florentyna had passed her physical combat final exam that time with two seconds to spare. When being told she had passed, one thing that no one expected was for the girl to start crying in relief, resulting in Natalya and Tatyana having to be the ones to rush over to help her sit and calm down as the next student was called up for their exam.

“I told you, you’d be able to do it,” Tatyana began with a proud smile on her face, handing over tissue to the other who was a teary mess, “We’re so proud of you, Florentyna.”  


“Yeah,” Monika placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, “You shouldn’t doubt yourself. Last year you weren’t ready, but this year, you managed to do it and pass.” 

“T-Thanks guys…” What sounded like a hiccup came from the blonde as she sniffled; using the tissue that Tatyana had given her before she took in a breath and rubbed her eyes, “I just, last year for me was so hard with finals… Knowing that I was able to pass this time is probably one of the best damn accomplishments I’ve had as a fairy,”

“Which is why I’m proposing we go get ice cream or something after this,” Natalya suggested, which her friends turned to look at her in surprise since she wasn’t the one who usually suggested fun things, “Would you guys not look at me like that? I’m serious, we all passed our final. I mean, we still have our last final tomorrow, but this one was the most intense one.”

“I agree,” Mei spoke up while she took her seat once again, “We still need to get lunch anyway, so let’s plan on some lunch, getting some ice cream, and relaxing for the rest of the day before we have to go through our last final tomorrow.”

This was a plan that the group mutually agreed was the best for all of them. After all, after three days of finals, they deserved to have just a little fun before their last final the next day. Their next final tomorrow would consist of having to travel to a different planet through a simulator and having to use survival tactics with their magic…

…It was one hard exam that no one wanted to think of at that moment, which was why it was best to relax rather than further worry about tests. 

Once Florentyna was given her space and air to calm down allowed for the group for a chance to decide on what to do for lunch. Seeing that it was finals, it was probably best to not go out and get food. That was when Tatyana had suggested the idea after all the exams were finished being conducted in the auditorium while they walked out, “Hey, why don’t we have a picnic?” 

This was something that managed to catch the entire group’s attention. Mainly at the fact that since while it was Christmas season, the magic dimension didn’t snow a lot. This being mainly due to global weather being so advanced compared to Earth… It was why while Natalya was looking forward to being home again, she wasn’t looking forward to having to go walking through snow. 

“We could grab things from the dining hall and set something out in front of the campus,” Mei agreed with the other as they walked down one of the garden paths in the main area of the campus now that they were out of the auditorium, “It’s a nice day out,” 

And so, a picnic was what was mutually agreed upon. Since there were things that had to be needed for a picnic, Monika and Mei had gone back up to their suite to grab a radio for music and a few blankets to lay down on the grass, while Natalya, Tatyana, and Florentyna were in charge of getting the food.

The one good thing about their dining hall was that it was grab-and-go. So if students chose to, they wouldn’t have to sit down and have to eat. Especially in between classes if there were students that had classes back to back, they could grab something quick to eat before heading to a lecture. 

The dining hall had been serving the average foods for lunch. Sandwiches, fruit, and a variety of assortments of fancy meals if students so choose to have it. It was a picnic, so there wasn’t really a need to get all the gourmet food. Natalya and Florentyna had picked out some sandwiches that looked appetizing for the group while Tatyana was in charge of picking out fruits. It was a simple, easy process.

It took about twenty minutes for the group of fairies to settle down in a grassy area of the campus with their belongings and food. With it being a beautiful sunny day, it was nice to relax after having to do such an intense exam. All of them were relieved, but once tomorrow came, there would be a whole other exam they’d have to worry about.

Once they began eating, normal conversations had taken place normally for any group of college students. Mainly discussing what they thought their final for the next day was going to be like, as well as plans that they all had for Christmas break. They would have about a month off before they returned to Lenfia in the New Year for the second semester, and to say the least, they all had plans.

However, as everyone discussed, Natalya had been glancing down at her phone where she could see a line of flirtatious messages coming from Alfred. The guys over at UHB were in the same position as Lenfia students with finals taking place with everyone going home that weekend. Though it seemed from what she was reading, Alfred wanted her to stop by before the two would part for winter break.

“Hellooo? World to Natalya?” A small smack was placed against the blonde’s back as she had gasped, now resulting in her to look over at her friends with a startled expression. Florentyna had looked at the other seeing that she was startled, resulting in laughter, “I said your name three times. Who are you talkin’ too?” 

There was no response from Natalya. That was until Florentyna had snatched her phone to glance at her messages, “Hey, give that back—“

“—What do we have here?” There was a large smirk that formed on Florentyna’s lips while she scrolled through the messages. It seemed to be a normal conversation between Alfred and Natalya with the flirting, but what caught her attention was the last few messages, “…Oh? Alfred wants you to come over and see him tonight?”

“It’s not like that,” Natalya interrupted and took her phone back, “He wants to… Go on a walk.”

“A walk?” Mei rose a brow hearing this while she took a bite out of her sandwich. Once she swallowed, she cleared her throat, “Where? At UHB?”

A snort came from Monika at the idea of Natalya going over to UHB to go on a walk with Alfred… Now that screamed bullshit at every other level, “A walk… Is that what you kiddos nowadays are calling hooking-up?”

Her face went bright red at the second she heard this. Natalya didn’t even know what to say or do, because well… Technically, the messages that Alfred was sending at her was hinting that. She didn’t answer though and instead snatched her phone back from Florentyna to hide underneath her rear. Her friends were staring at her now, all mischievous looks on their faces, “Stop it. It’s just a normal date before we all have to leave for break.”

“So I am right,” Monika smirked in amusement before reaching for one of the fruits that Tatyana had chosen out from the dining hall for them to eat, “Listen, in my realm, if we’re talking about hooking up we call it doing homework together. On Earth, you probably call it a date. But, here in the magic dimension, ‘going on a walk’ in the realm of Magix for college students means a whole different story if you know what I mean,”

“Well, she can’t go,” Florentyna had laid her head right into Natalya’s lap; a small smirk of her own present, “In those messages I saw he had just asked you an hour ago. The rule is that boys should at least give at least seventy-two hours in advance to plan a date.” 

“…But that ruins the purpose of a hook-up,” Laughter came from Mei now, though of course the entire time, there was an unamused expression on Natalya’s face.

“Oh shut up,” Natalya spoke out and let out a sigh. Since they had been sitting beside a tree, she had rested her back against it while ignoring the stare that came from Florentyna on her lap, “That doesn’t matter. I want to go see him. It has nothing to do with fucking around, I just want to spend time with him before this semester ends.”

Her sex life with Alfred was one thing she would never admit to her friends. The fact was that since that night when the witches had broken into Lenfia and they had that party, no one had knew behind closed doors, she and Alfred had… Well, taken a step further in their relationship, was the way to call it. At least once a week since that night, she had snuck out to spend a night with him at UHB.

It was one of the benefits of being a fairy with magic, after all. 

So far, she didn’t think her friends had known she was sneaking out, let alone, sleeping with him at this point. But she knew this was normal for her group of friends. After all, they teased one another whenever they got the chance. It seemed for now she was on the hook, because they mainly had been teasing the idea of ‘what if’ it was more than just a walk.

The reality was, for her and Alfred, it was definitely more than just a walk.

“Well, looks like our Nat has a date then,” Mei finished her sandwich before washing it down with a bottle of water, “Make sure to at least tell him to invite all of us to next time.”

Again, there was another joke from her friends… She didn’t mind it, but she hoped once she did come back from this date, there wouldn’t be any further questions about her and Alfred’s relationship. After all, what they did was no one else’s business other than theirs.

The picnic had lasted for about an hour or so before they all finished eating and began to gather up their belongings. Since it was the afternoon, they all had a bit of time to study and relax, which was what the group had agreed to do together since they all would be doing it. There was also the additional factor of Florentyna asking for help since she wasn’t the best at studying, which her friends agreed to do. 

The studying session in their suite had taken place in the living room once they returned from their picnic. Rather than practicing magic, they were all looking up recipes and spells to study. The exam that they were to take was a simulation-based one. They would be put into a transporter, sent to another world while being monitored by their Professor, and have to come up with different ways to enhance the planet’s environment. It wasn’t combat-based like their exam that day, but there could be potential risks of encountering creatures on the planet that they may have to fight.

It was a priority that students have spells memorized to not only defend themselves, but to also with contributing to the environment of the planet. Whether it be planting flowers and using a strengthening spell to help them grow, or even planting trees and using spells to have them grow quickly - there were no notes to be used at all. It was an exam all based on memorization and a plan students should have established in their minds before walking through that portal. 

The evening approached quickly, which was when Natalya had recalled her little date with Alfred. The good part about being a student at Lenfia was that there were busses always traveling back and forth between the two campuses, so all she had done was at around 7 PM, take one of the last busses to UHB from the entrance of Lenfia. She promised herself to be back before midnight, because after all, she did have her last final tomorrow and did need to sleep. At that point, busses would be shut down, so she would have to rely on magic to get back to her room.

Traveling to UHB was a very short ride seeing that the campuses were only two-miles away from each other. When Natalya did arrive, all she had done was step off of the bus to be greeted to the grand gates that belonged to UHB. The University was truly a beautiful place. Just as well-structured as Lenfia, the magic that radiated from it showed that it was a place that carried the lives of future heroes to serve the magic dimension.

Just after getting to know Alfred after all these months, she could tell that he really was determined to become one of the best heroes in the magic dimension. When she had asked him why he was doing it, he didn’t give her a big of an answer… But more, because he wanted to at least do something good in his life before graduating and returning to his old life. 

Which to her, she didn’t know a lot about. Alfred had told her that he had a brother and his parents were very well, but that was it. When she had asked if she could meet his family, he would always divert the conversation into something else… It concerned her, but she imagined that maybe there was a reason he didn’t want his family to meet her. Regardless, she told him she would be patient and that when he was ready to introduce her to them, she’d put on her best impression. After all, with meeting her family, Alfred left a pretty good impression on them.

Natalya had taken out her phone and sent out a text to Alfred when he had arrived to the campus. From what she could tell, it seemed to be very quiet… It made sense seeing that it was finals, so she had automatically came to the assumption that everyone was busy studying for their last finals tomorrow. She knew Alfred had a few finals, but he still managed to put some time aside for her as she put time aside for him.

After all, it would be a month until the next time they could see each other.

The text she had sent out to him wasn’t responded to at all. This managed to confuse her at first because Alfred was always quick when responding to her messages. Natalya pouted slightly and wondered what was going on… That was until something had shielded her eyes. It startled her, but all she had done was place her hands over where her eyes on to feel… Hands? 

“Alfred…” The blonde turned around to indeed see the large, childish smirk on the other’s face, “Don’t scare me like that.” 

“I scared you, really?” Alfred, who had seemed to be proud saying that, pulled his hands back before reaching down to take her hands into his own. Her hands were brought up to his lips where he kissed against the knuckles; still feeling proud about himself, “Wow, I actually scared the princess of never falling for surprises, Natalya Arlovskaya… Do I at least get a reward for it?”

A reward? An eyeroll came from Natalya since she knew exactly what that meant. She sighed at him before leaning forward and pressing a deep kiss against his lips. It was their welcoming gesture to each other after all, before soon, she had pulled back to be greeted with what looked like a child tasting ice cream for the first time, “You’re lucky I like kissing you. Or else your reward would’ve been me slapping you because I hate getting startled.”

“Hey I mean, if it’s coming from you, I’m not opposed to it,” There was a sly grin from the other as Natalya heard this, resulting in a bit of surprise from her. Alfred really didn’t care about anything she did, did he? 

Alas, the couple soon began to walk off together towards the direction of the second-year dormitories. The entire time they walked, Alfred had kept his arm around the other simply out of habit while keeping his eyes up ahead. On occasion there would be a student or two who would stare, since after all, it was a rarity to see a girl - especially a fairy from Lenfia - walking on their campus in the evening during finals week. 

One could say that for the men at UHB, it was considered a ‘goal’ to be dating anyone from Lenfia since fairies were usually very happy and pretty. The thing was, Natalya was pretty, but she didn’t act like any normal fairy… That was why Alfred admired her. She acted more human that a magical being, which was made her unique because she understood to those people. 

The couple engaged in conversation as they walked, mainly to catch up each other on what they had been doing that past week with finals in the air. Natalya had come to learn that Alfred had a lot of combat-based finals, while on the other hand, Alfred learned Natalya had two combat-based exams and two lecture exams. 

Though compared to this year’s round of finals, Alfred was happy to say the least ending it with her by his side, “You know Nat, I didn’t really like school last year…”

Her brows rose when she heard this. As they walked, Natalya stood by his side before she looked up at him, “Oh? How come?” 

“Eh… I guess the workload is much easier as a second-year than a first-year,” Alfred began, which Natalya couldn’t help but to nod in agreement because the amount of work that these schools gave on their first-year students… It was insanity! She was doing more work than she ever did in her many years of attending a normal school, “Also better people too. Last year, it was just me and Gilbert because we came from the same planet. I knew Florentyna… For uh,” He coughed slightly, this catching Natalya’s attention as she tilted her head in confusion, “Gilbert being… close to the royal family on our planet, so we three just clicked pretty well. But… With you here this year, it’s been ten times amazing.”

“Oh.” There was a small blush that came from the girl. Now she understood what he was doing. He was flirting with her again, “Well, I’m glad to hear that I contributed to you at least having a good first semester.” 

“Speaking of semesters,” While the couple walked, eventually, they had arrived to the dorms. Alfred had taken out his student ID to scan them in before opening the door for the other, allowing for her to walk in first before he followed, “How’d you say your first semester out of six at Lenfia has been?”

Six semesters, this being referred to as how the program at Lenfia she was in lasted for about three years. That was one thing she noticed about being in the magic dimension…. That college lasted for three years with each semester varying with an objective. For just her first semester as a first-year, the truth was, she was overwhelmed, “Insanity,” Natalya admitted while the two had approached a pair of staircases to walk up to his room, “I mean… I love Lenfia, don’t get me wrong. But these final exams really have been making me go crazy. Tomorrow’s my last one, and then I get to go home to Earth for the break.”

“Finals suck,” Alfred responded in agreement while the two walked up the stairs. Upon arriving on the second floor of the dorm, once again, he held the door for her before following her. They had been now in a large hallway with doors lined up against one another, which soon he began to lead her so they could get to his room, “I’m sure you’ll do great though. So far from what Florentyna brags about you, you’re grades are phenomenal.”

“Yeah… I guess you can call it going to a prep school for twelve years of your life and having to maintain a huge academic scholarship,” Natalya explained with a sigh. That was her life previously on Earth, after all. The school she had been going was a private high school that she had been rewarded a full-tuition scholarship to attend… It was why her father beforehand was so hesitant about her going to Lenfia. Giving it up to go to a fairy school? She was happy she got to go, but she also feared for what people had talked about her when she was gone, “But this final is supposed to be a huge one. We have to memorize environmental spells and be put into a transporter. In order to pass, we have to use our magic to come up with ways to contribute to the environment.” 

“Wait, you’re doing that exam?” There was amazement in Alfred’s eyes when hearing this. Eventually, the two had approached his door where he had slipped in a pair of keys to unlock it. At first glance inside, it was shown that Gilbert was nowhere to be around… Which was why he was so eager for her to come that night. Gilbert was off studying with a friend for the night, so he had the entire room to himself, “Did you ever hear the story about the fairy who disappeared in the transporting chamber?”

Natalya’s eyes narrowed when she heard this, resulting in her to playfully shove is shoulder while walking inside his room, “Not funny, Alfred.”

“I’m just teasing, Natalya,” He gave her a bit of a wink before tossing his keys onto his desk, now turning on a light so he could at least see her, “I heard that exam at Lenfia determines your long-term success as a fairy. I’m sure you’re going to kick ass.”

“…Thanks.” There was a small sigh that came from Natalya. Clearly, she wasn’t in the mindset of thinking she’d perform well after how close she was to failing earlier that day, and Alfred noticed her distraught. She sat down on his bed to lay on it; staring directly at the ceiling.

That was a bad choice for her to make then and there. The second Alfred had noticed her do this, he had felt a smirk form on his lips and soon, he had made his way over quickly and crawled right on top of her. Natalya went still as the male leaned forward and placed a kiss against her forehead out of affection, “Hey,” He began and reached to cup her cheek, “Come on, don’t be that way. I’ve seen the kind of power you have. It’s amazing, so I know you’ll ace that test easily.” 

“Power is only part of it, is the thing,” Even if he was on top of her, it didn’t stop her from crossing her arms while staring into his eyes, “What happened with me in Magix with those witches… I still have no idea. I just thought it was me getting angry and instead of screaming out my emotions at the time, my powers did it for me…” There was a thought that came to her mind as she spoke, “I wish I could have read that book at the Tower of the Dead…” 

A book? Alfred tilted his head now in confusion as his hand continued to caress her cheek slowly, “What book, babe?”

That was right… She had told him about how she and her friends got in trouble for breaking into the University of Dark Arts. But she forgot to tell him the part about how she had found a book with her name on it in their library, “They say that in their school’s library, they have a book dedicated to every fairy in the entire universe. I thought it was a joke, because well, we found the book… But it turns out the headmistress had planned it out as a trick to get us caught.”

“That headmistress at that university is insane,” Eventually after a moment, Alfred had lowered himself down and laid beside her. This gave a chance for Natalya to adjust herself so they could snuggle; now resting her head on his chest. That one act was enough for the male’s fingers to slowly begin creeping up her arm in the form of a massage, but more or less, he was going for something else, “She hates fairies like any other witch. I don’t get it why witches and warlocks hate fairies too…”

“Maybe because we use positive magic and they prefer dark magic?” There was a bit of a snicker as Natalya said this, “Or they just hate that we’re not as mentally fucked up as they are. When we went to go get Florentyna’s ring back, those witches - Gelinda, Aviana, Nebula - they had voodoo dolls in their room. Voodoo dolls - I thought those were all things children would do.” 

“That’s just fucked up right there…” Laying there with her while she talked away gave Alfred the chance to simply admire her. Even though she seemed to be thinking on her own, the way she laid there was so enchanting to him. He could tell she’s been awake since her first class, but he was mainly focused on the features of her face… From her eyes to her pink lips, it was addicting to him. That was until he had noticed something around her neck.

A simple necklace.

As his fingers went along her skin, he couldn’t help but reach over and slowly touch the necklace that was on her neck. It looked like a simple golden locket before soon he looked at it. All it had on it was the words, ‘Natya,’ as well as for her birthdate, “What’s this?” He had asked, curious about it.

Feeling his hand had Natalya look over at him. That was when she had noticed it. He had been playing with the necklace she wore around her neck as she rose a brow, “Oh… It’s a necklace I’ve had since I was a baby,” She began and reached for it, beginning to fiddle with it, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? My father told me it was a gift from him and my mother after I was born because I was apparently their ‘little miracle’.”

The necklace was indeed beautiful, Something about it though had Alfred’s brows narrow just a bit. He knew he should tell the truth about him to Natalya, being a prince and all… But he didn’t think it was a good time. The thing was that with being a prince, he recognized a lot of things. The necklace not only had her name and birthdate, but it also had a beautiful symbol on it that he swore he’s seen before… Was a symbol from Earth? He had no idea.

“Well, a beautiful necklace for a beautiful girl. It makes sense,” Alfred leaned himself forward now to rest his forehead against hers. She was silent, but the longer she gazed into his eyes, the more she found herself longing to be closer to him.

Having this time alone with one another was truly nice. After all, they were both under the pressure of finals, which meant the two didn’t get a lot of time to spend together… Which led to intimate, close moments like these. Ones where they weren’t to be intruded or interrupted by anyone else…

…However, that wasn’t the case for Natalya at all.

* * *

Dark magic was truly a dangerous tool. Even for witches at the Tower of the Dead, who had access to it at all times. It was ironic that Natalya had brought up the hatred of the witches, since after all, since that day in Magix - the three witches had studied over the royal family of the magic dimension.

The royal family that everyone in the dimension had thought to have been lost forever. Deceased even, with no chance of return… Until Gelinda had made a discovery that it may not be the case. 

An orb was in the middle of the three witches’ room as the observed the scene that had taken place. Since that fight, they studied Natalya. Making sure to see what her routine was so they could have a better chance of perhaps trapping her and stealing the power of the dragon flame and heart of ice. 

The issue was that there was no case that would work for them. They would have to ambush her when there was no one around her… And the girl had always someone with her! Whether it be her friends or even that boyfriend of hers, the witches could not get a break. Let alone, her going back to Earth for the winter break wasn’t what they wanted. No magic beings were allowed on Earth due to the risk of exposing magic. If they were, they could get arrested immediately by authorities. 

However, there was one thing that did catch their attention though. This pertaining to the conversation she had with Alfred about the final exam she was taking the next day.

“If we get this right,” Aviana had spoken; her fingers trailing across the glass orb in interest as the scene had played out over and over again of her conversation with Alfred. Since the couple had walked into that bedroom, the witches wanted nothing to do with their date. It was mainly their conversation that interested them, thus, leading for them to record it and analyze it, “We could astro-inject ourselves right into that magical reality chamber of her exam. And she’ll be by herself. No one would be able to stop us or help her.”

“So we can mess Natalya up without even having to leave our room,” Nebula began in amazement while her arms were crossed in thought, “That’s so fucking cool…”

“It’s cool and convenient for us,” Gelinda interrupted and stood up from her position on the ground, leaving the two other witches to watch the scene continue to play out between her and Alfred. The witch had approached a small refrigerator; this fridge being full of elixirs as she scanned through them, “We’d have to brew a witch’s cauldron to get ourselves in. Which we can start working on tonight… But in order to make sure it works,” She cast a look over to Aviana, “How do you feel about doing a little transportation spell and messing with the reality chamber? Once we’re done with Natalya, we can leave her in whatever planet she’s in for good. No one in this dimension would need Viktor and Alyona’s daughter at all.”

A large smirk formed on Aviana’s lips as she stood up, letting Nebula play with the glass orb to watch the scene, “With pleasure, sister,” As she said this, she had reached for her wand that was placed on her bed. With a small wave of it; dark magic filled the air, “Give me five minutes. I’ll be right back.”

With one wave of magic, the witch had disappeared in front of Gelinda and Nebula; leaving the two there. The plan that Gelinda had suggested was a great one, especially since it involved the tampering of magic in an electrical chamber. The one wave of magic was enough to send Aviana directly into Lenfia’s campus of the reality chamber’s lab.

It was dark, but it was bright enough from the LED’s from the computer screen to figure out where it was. The chamber was like any normal one; a platform where the student would be standing on before being transported to another world. In this case, wherever the Professor who was administering the exam was sending her, she’d be there forever.

A hand was brought up to the glass that separated the room she was in from the chamber. Aviana closed her eyes and took in a breath as she began the enchantment, “ _Bring to this chamber the powers of the ancestral witches. Trap Princess Natasha, and turn her final exam as her death sentence to giving us the powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice.”_

A glowing orb of magic sparked from her fingertips as the enchantment was conducted. It was quick, but within seconds, the computer seemed to have begun glowing in different colors as coding in numbers popped up on the screen. Within seconds, the screen had gone back to normal, as if there was no magic involved.

“Perfect.” Aviana chuckled and reached for her wand. Now, once she got back to the room, she’d help Nebula and Gelinda finish the witches’ cauldron so they could create an elixir to transport their minds into the reality chamber…

…And make sure they leave with her powers.

* * *

_ “…do I get to ask how long I get you this evening for?” _

“Until midnight.” That was Natalya’s policy for him, which Alfred couldn’t help but to respond in a pout. How else was she going to be prepared for her final if she spent the night? Then again, she understood where he was coming from with the pouting… After all, it would be their last night together until the Spring semester began, “Don’t look at me like that. It makes me feel bad.”

A chuckle managed to escape the male’s lips before he leaned forward to place a small peck against her lips. The gesture was unexpected, but it was met with the same response with her lips moving along his slowly. It was nice spending time alone with him like this, especially after a long day of going through exams that she didn’t want to deal with. 

To say the least, being in this kind of position with Alfred was a very dangerous one. After all, when a couple was as close as they were with one another, things tended to escalate. And escalate was what had happened the second she had decided to lay on that bed; leaving herself vulnerable to the position of him being on top of her. 

The longer they laid there with their mouths locked in the kiss, the more it gave Alfred the opportunity to allow his hands to travel. It had started off from her hips to her stomach, before reaching that luxurious chest of hers where he couldn’t help but cup at her right breast. Natalya of course was startled by the gesture, which she had pulled away from the kiss and stared at him as if he were crazy, “Alfred, what if Gilbert walked in?”

The smirk on the male’s face only increased hearing her concern, “Relax babe, he’s not going to be back here until tomorrow morning,” Yeah, tomorrow morning since technically Gilbert had been doing something back at their planet… More or less, ‘preparing for the arrival of the Prince’ seeing that Alfred was technically expected to return to his Kingdom the following night.

Being reminded of that thought though made him wonder if it was a good time to tell her who he truly was. Yet, seeing how vulnerable and cute she was in that bed, he found himself more distracted pinning her down once more before his hand slowly hand crept up her shirt to massage the soft skin of her breast. 

Natalya’s eyes widened since, from her interpretation, it seemed that Alfred wasn’t worried about Gilbert walking in, “Well… you’re just one horny little shit, huh?”

“…Is it that obvious?” Another chuckle managed to erupt from the back of Alfred’s throat before pulling her up to him. As she sat up, this gave up the chance to cup her cheeks while staring into those beautiful violet-blue orbs in her eyes, “I guess it’s just I’m going to miss you a lot during this break, baby. At least let’s have some fun before we have to go back to our normal lives for a month.”

Normal lives… Yeah, the one that involved a crown on the top of his head and she got the freedom to going to a planet with no powers again. 

It was a bold offer he was making… But for Natalya, this was something she wasn’t opposed to at all. She loved whenever Alfred was to give her this opportunity to express her affection, and so, she had wrapped her arms around the other to place a kiss against his cheek, “Alright, you win. Consider me your Christmas present, because I was going to bring actual presents from Earth to everyone once the break was over.” 

Having her as a Christmas present was an amazing deal for Alfred, that just the excitement of it began to build-up in his groin. To say the least, the male had leaned over once more and met her lips in another deep kiss, which was where the two sat there for the next few minutes or so. That was until that bulge right on his crotch began to increase in size. Natalya, despite being distracted by his mouth on hers and the feeling of his hands on her chest, took note of this as she reached over and allowed for her hand to begin massaging the fabric that covered his crotch. 

Alfred felt a groan come out of his mouth feeling this gesture. Anytime Natalya was to touch him, she was always so gentle to the point where he wondered if she was teasing him. She’d never admit it if she was, but her touching was enough to the point where his own hands had already helped her work off that shirt of hers to reveal the large mounds on her chest. 

For any guy like him, if there was one thing he loved about women, it was their breasts.

The white-laced bra that had been keeping her breasts shielded from him was immediately removed as Alfred had reached behind her to undo her clasp; already much experienced with it since, after that one party where they had first hooked-up technically, their relationship had turned into hooking up at least once a week throughout the semester. It mainly consisted of her sneaking out to visit seeing that she had four other roommates that had no idea that they were fucking. 

One could describe the expression on Alfred’s face similar to a child seeing candy for the first time the second he was exposed to her pale breasts; her pink nipples standing out to him the most as he pushed her down onto the bed. This time, his hands had reached over to pin her wrists above her head, which had Natalya’s brows raise in a bit of amusement because she certainly wasn’t expecting that.

But what came next was even more unexpected.

Within seconds of pinning her down to the bed, Alfred’s mouth had latched onto her left breast and began sucking down on it. She moaned in response, quietly of course, at the fact that they were technically in a dorm and she didn’t know if the walls were thin. As his mouth was latched onto her breast, this gave the male a chance to sneak his hand down between her leg. The bonus part for him was that she decided to wear a skirt every day when she was usually the one who wore jeans!

“Did you wear a skirt for me?” Alfred had pulled his mouth away; his hand already crept in between her legs while his fingers played with the fabric of her panties. Just by touch, he could already tell that she was beginning to get a bit wet. She didn’t say anything and turned her head away, which was enough of an answer for him while he pressed his face into her neck; trailing kisses against her skin, “Wow. So I am right. Best Christmas present~”

“Shut up…” There was a mutter that came from Natalya. She wasn’t the type to admit to things, but the truth was that she thought a skirt would look nice. And maybe getting something else more than just spending time with him. Yet, the more he had teased her by rubbing her through her panties, she eventually managed to groan out, “…and just fuck me already,” 

Alfred’s eyes widened when he heard this. If her breasts didn’t get him hard, that one statement she gave him was enough to get him to rock hard then and there. He pulled his face back, a large smile on his face as he hummed casually and reached over to his drawer, “Let’s see… fuck you? I’m sure I can make that a special arrangement,” As he said this, the drawer was opened to reveal a bit of tool.

The one thing about being a specialist hero was that he got to use a lot of equipment for fighting. Even bringing them back to his room to experiment and test on them. After all, heroes not only had to be good at combat, but also in engineering as well. This gave him the chance to pull out what looked like a pair of handcuffs as he hummed a small tune, grabbing her wrists, and handcuffing her right on the bed frame.

That had Natalya’s body freeze the second she realized the restraint was on her. Technically, she could melt the handcuffs right then and there, but she was curious to see how this would play out. Usually she was the one to start off with giving him a blowjob, but it seemed that Alfred had other plans in mind as he began to work off her skirt and her panties.

Within seconds, she was lying there on his bed; completely bare naked with the only thing keeping her back being that pair of handcuffs.

“How the fuck did you get things like this?” Natalya had asked out of curiosity; her wrists struggling at first while she watched Alfred stand up to slowly begin giving her a bit of a show to undress, “Won’t you get in trouble?”

“Do you always have so many questions, princess?” This show consisting of him removing his shirt first, which got her to shut-up very fast. One thing that came with being a hero was being physically athletic… And well, it was rare to see a man so strong like Alfred back home in Russia. Alfred was grinning the entire time noticing her stare, but what got her to go as dead as a mouse was the second he had unbuckled his pants and let the clothing drop to the ground. Natalya’s jaw was slightly dropped seeing how hard he had already grown from just telling him to fuck her. He stood there; watching her for a moment while his hand began to stroke up and down the length of his cock; precum already forming at the base of it, “You said for me to just fuck you, so, I’m going to do just that… Nice and hard too.”

She swallowed a bit nervously. For one thing, she trusted Alfred. This wasn’t the first time he had pulled a stunt like this. There was once a night where they were alone together and he had insisted she wear a blindfold because he had a surprise for her. That surprise being his dick right in her mouth, which to her, was the best dessert any girl like her would want.

Alfred had moved himself to the bed now to be on top of her once again. He smiled at her, giving her a small kiss at her nose, “Now don’t blow up at me. I know you have amazing powers, so if you decide to let out a rage of fire or ice, at least do it when I get you to orgasm.”

That was enough words given by him before he had reached for her hips; pulling them up as he crept himself down. Natalya didn’t say anything in regards to her powers, after all, he knew that she was still trying to figure herself out. Those worried thoughts in her mind though immediately disappeared the second she realized what he was doing.

What felt like a kiss against her lips in between her legs was given at first. It was slow, but soon enough, she could feel his hot tongue beginning to prod at the small pink pearl that belonged to her clit before he officially began to taste her. Natalya had gasped; her back arching in response out of sensitivity. Part of her wished she could take those damn handcuffs off, but the thought of being restrained like this turned her even more on.

And turning her on was exactly what Alfred was looking for. His tongue had prodded into the deep parts of her cavern; taking in her taste while his hands held onto her thighs securely. He groaned noticing that she was trying to buck up, which had him press her down even more into the bed while he went further. There had been a point too where he had pulled back; allowing his fingers to replace his tongue as he thrusted two inside her immediately. 

Laying there on the bed had Natalya struggle in between the restraints. With each thrust he made, it only had what sounded like a quivering moan come from the back of her throat out of frustration that she couldn’t move. But he made sure that it felt good. There were moments where his thrusts were fast, then there were moments where he simply stopped and just allowed for his thumb to rub and press around her clit. It was a dream feeling to Natalya, but when he had pulled out and licked the essence that came from her away, she was greeted to that same smirk of his again

Her hips were with one hand by him while the other had continuously stroked the length of his cock. Her eyes were closed while she panted softly; still not having yet processed what had happened before with the fingering… That was until she felt a new pressure in between her legs. Opening her eyes, she was greeted to his lips pressed against hers before the pressure of him filling her with his length began to take place.

The feeling was tight at first for him, which was why Alfred took his slow. He knew to be gentle around her at first, but once things were heated, then he knew he could have his fun. What sounded like a small cry of pleasure came from her as he shushed her with his lips; his length slowly continuing to press more and more into her until soon, he was fully in. He stayed in the position for a moment, allowing for her to adjust before beginning his thrusts.

Being restrained like this was absolutely brutal for the woman. With each thrust he gave inside her, she couldn’t stop her moans from coming out of her. He was slow at first, but when it had gotten to a comfortable place for both of them, that was when he began picking up his pace. 

Alfred’s hand had held onto one of her thighs while another hand caressed her cheek; showing that admiration and affection he had towards her while his hips bucked at a fast pace inside her. Natalya’s face was burning red from blushing, which was a normal reaction from her due to having such a pale complexion. He smiled the entire time; thoughts of how beautiful she was while he leaned down to whisper into her ear, “You are so perfect, my love… I love you so much…”

His tone of voice was husky, which was one thing that had aroused Natalya to the max. There was something about hearing this tone of voice from him while he had her restrained, fucking her then calling her perfect- it was a dream to her. 

With each thrust, came with the creaking of his bed. The thing was that both of them didn’t care. However, for anyone to lived in the room below his, the creaking and rocking of the bed were enough of an indicator that two people were indeed making love in the room above. 

Alfred and Natalya were at it for a good ten minutes until his thrusts became a bit rougher. Instead of focusing on the restraints, Alfred had held onto her and had his face pressed into her chest; moaning himself in response to the tight feeling of her walls throbbing around his cock. He knew he was close to coming, but he didn’t want to give in just yet. Just until he could get her to come… And that was when an idea came into mind.

His thrusts were rough and hard. Mainly to hit that g-spot of hers, which he knew he could find based on her reaction. Right now, she was moaning and kept her eyes shut. All it took for him was a small growl of annoyance and another thrust; making sure it was balls deep inside her until he got that reaction he was looking for. This reaction from Natalya being what sounded like an out gasp as she struggled with the restraints, “Oh my god, Alfred, fuck-!”  


Bingo.

Natalya’s moans were louder now. It was to a point where Alfred did grin at it; pressing his lips once more against hers to whisper, “…hearing you cry like that for daddy makes me just want to blow inside you…” 

Alfred was one kinky bastard. That was one thing Natalya had learned throughout the last few months of their relationship, so when he had said this, there was a part of her that wanted to talk back, but she also wanted to hear more from the other. 

Alas, she couldn’t help herself anymore. She was never the type of person to use magic during sex, but part of her couldn’t help it with those damn handcuffs. And thus, a small glow came from her hands as she used her magical energy to have her wrists go through the straight to release her, before soon, she had her arms wrapped around him where she pulled him close.

This gesture was met with surprise by Alfred as his eyes widened seeing the handcuffs resting right on his bed frame. So she used magic… Not surprising at all, especially since after all, she was a smart fairy and seemed to know how to use her magic in any circumstance. Alas, the second she had wrapped her arms around him, this gave him the chance to sit her up properly so she had been sitting on his lap. His hands had held onto her hips; guiding her up and down the length of his cock while soft moans continued to escape from her lips.

Being in this position now really made a difference. Not only was she sensitive, but his thrusts were beginning to even more hit that g-spot of hers to the point where she knew she was close to coming, “I’m close, Alfred… I’m close…” Her voice was in a whisper, but a whisper was enough for the male to continue guiding her up and down.

Alfred could feel himself growing insensitivity as well. The tightness from her cavern with the heat from her wetness in combination was absolutely amazing, that when she did reach her climax, he had pulled out quickly to finish her by rubbing her off. This new welcomed feeling for Natalya was greeted with a gasp, but it was enough to soon have her white essence dripping from her entrance. 

Hear moans were enough to just get him to go off as well. The second he noticed the white fluid that had come from her entrance, it was enough for him to groan as well as his seed had squirted directly onto her stomach. Natalya felt her face go red at the heat from his come, but she quickly relaxed noticing how he was panting as she pulled him into a deep kiss. She didn’t care. Even she had reached over to continue stroking him; making sure every last ounce of his seed was out before he went soft.

The couple was absolutely exhausted. Even Natalya when she had the intention of leaving at midnight, she couldn’t help but find herself lay down beside Alfred in his arms; staring right at the ceiling as breaths continued to escape from her mouth. Alfred was in just as much bliss as her. The entire time though, he kept his arms around her protectively; wanting to make sure that she would stay for now until they relaxed.

However, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t call her out from what she did.

“…so little miss Natalya couldn’t handle the restraints…” He smirked and looked down at her, “You used your magic to get out of them?”

“Fuck off.” There was a small sigh that came from Natalya, though the entire time, Alfred had that proud childish smile on his lips as if it were a good thing, “You felt amazing, okay? I needed to hold onto you — I was starting to get crazy.” 

“Crazy for my dick? Damn, that’s an achievement for me,” He had leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead, which immediately got her to silence. He was proud, and even if she didn’t want to admit it, she seemed to be satisfied with what had taken place, “Well, it looks like I’ll have to bring something more advanced next time… That way I can keep you down.” 

A bit more advanced… Natalya laughed at that. Already she had gone through the training just through Lenfia from anything technical. She could only imagine what the man had in store for her next.

The couple laid there for the next hour simply relaxing and talking. Not once were they aware of their previous conversation outside when walking to the dorms being watched by the witches… Especially since those witches had cut off connection the second the couple walked through Alfred’s bedroom door. 

Midnight did roll around after a while, which was when Natalya knew she had to take her to leave. She bathed in Alfred’s bathroom, making sure to keep the door closed because knowing the man, she knew he would’ve hopped in and joined her very quick for another quick fuck session. She came out eventually from the shower, but instead of being in her clothes, she was present in her fairy appearance.

For Alfred, it looked like she was already ready to go after freshening herself up. 

The window of his room was open as he stood there with her; arms around her while their lips were locked in a sealed kiss. It was their way of saying goodbye, though just before she crawled out to leave, he had taken in a breath and cupped her cheek, “…promise me you’ll text me at least once a day when you’re back on Earth?”

“…Duh, dumbass.” There was a small eye-roll from the woman as she looked up at him, “I won’t really be busy. The most I’ll probably be doing is work in my family’s bakery or doing chores around the house. My phone is always on me.”

“Good,” Another kiss was placed on her forehead, which was his signal that he was letting her go. 

Natalya crawled through the window now. Since he was on one of the top stories of the dorms, there was a reason why she had transformed herself into her fairy form. She flew in the air in front of him; watching him as he stared at her with that loving expression on his face… Though the reality was that, Alfred was panicking.

Should he tell her the truth now?

“Hey, Nat…” Alfred began after she had crawled out; this catching her attention as she turned to face him midair. The way she looked at him with confusion in her eyes, all it did was make him even more nervous… How would she react if he told her he was a Prince!? This entire time she thought he worked closely with the royal family of Eraqion - not an actual member of the family. That was where he struggled, resulting in the first thing to blurt out of his mouth, “I love you. Good luck on your exam.”

Seeing this side of Alfred had her heart warm up. Natalya hadn’t been expecting for him to call out to her, but that didn’t stop her from flying to the balcony and pressing on more kiss against his lips, “I know,” She responded and cupped his cheek with her hand, “I love you too… so much. I’ll text you when I get back to my room.”

That was a fair enough deal. Alfred nodded, giving her hands one last squeeze before she had turned around and began to fly off in the direction of Lenfia. He sighed heavily in frustration…

…How the hell was he going to tell her the truth?

* * *

Arriving back to Lenfia past midnight seemed to have been a huge success for her on her end. She had managed to sneak by into the first-year dorms, creep up to her room, not in her fairy attire, go into her room, and crawl into bed. One of the worries Natalya had was of someone seeing her in her fairy form, but to her dismay, no one did. And she thanked fate simply being on her side at that moment.

And she was exhausted. First after all that walking, then the amazing sex, to flying back to Lenfia all in one night… She had hoped that at least she’d be able to sleep and snuggle with Alfred more, but she needed to be up as early as 9 AM to prepare for this exam. After all, while her exam wasn’t until the later morning, but she wanted to take some time to prepare her bag and make sure she memorized as many spells as she could. 

The final was to take at least ten minutes. Students would be put into a magical reality chamber where they are to be sent to a different world, preferably a lifeless one, where they are to use their magic in order to help bring life back to its environment. The good thing was that it was all based on spells and elixirs, so there wouldn’t be any involvement with having to fight any enemies.

After the previous final too under Radella’s discretion, Natalya didn’t want to even think of going into any more fights. 

She spent her early morning sitting at the dining room table of the suite with her notes. As she reviewed her notes of spells she planned on using, she also had put together a small bag of things that she believed would help the environment. Mainly seeds to grow plants, elixirs that would help vegetables grow, and so on. Once there was an environment to feed on, she would use magic to call on animals to be summoned, and maybe after she left, there would be a chance that nature would run its course.

She felt confident in the spells that she knew. Throughout that past weekend, she had been working on memorizing them religiously, so she knew what to plan out. Alfred was right… She was prepared for this and knew exactly what she was doing. And so, when she finished her breakfast and last-minute studying, she had joined with the rest of her friends off to the exam later that morning. 

An exam that once again, all first-year students had to be present for.

This time, instead of there being a panel of faculty and the headmistress watching, it was only one Professor being in charge of administering the exam. All first-year students were instructed to wait in rows of chairs that were set up behind the magical reality chamber, where not only was there a giant computer present, but a monitor as well so they could all watch each student that went up to be prepared on what to expect.

“Good morning, ladies,” The Professor, which the majority of students knew him as Professor Polonium - the one who usually conducted the courses that involved potion making and combat training. He had been standing in front of the monitor with a microphone in hand; a smile plastered on his face since to him, finals were one of these favorite things, “I hope you are all full of energy and prepared to take your final exam.”

In the midst of his speech, on the top floor of the academic hall where the administrator's offices were, the headmistress had been active in the audience as well. While she wasn’t participating in being in the final, she did want to watch each student during their exam….

…Including Natalya, who she had noticed was first on the roster to go by alphabetical order.

“…Good luck, girls.” Radella had taken in a breath while sitting at her desk. In front of her, a mirror had been projecting the scene of the audience of students, the magical reality chamber, and the Professor himself as he reminded all students about what the conditions and expectations were for the exam. There was a moment though that she had held her hand out; magic flowing from her fingertips so she could get a glance of what the fairy from Earth was doing.

Natalya had her notes out and was paying close attention to what the Professor had been saying. There was a lot of pressure - she could just feel it radiating throughout all of the students. Rightfully so - everyone was nervous. Even her friends who were just sitting in the seats behind her were nervous, but they all encouraged each other before entering the lab room.

“Now Ladies,” The Professor continued on with his speech after getting through all the guidelines and expectations of what was to take place in the exam, “Remember, this isn’t a projection. This is reality. Wherever you are sent, it is real. Please try your best to not get hurt. If you do, you have all permissions to use your powers to take care of yourself.”

“Did he just say, ‘try not to get hurt’?” Tatyana felt herself shiver at the thought of hearing this. She didn’t think that there was a chance of getting hurt in a simulation. But the fact that there was a possibility had her eyes widen as Florentyna had been the one to place a hand on her shoulder.

“Relax girly,” Florentyna asked with a bit of unamusement, “We have to plant trees and flowers, use our magic to help them grow. What could we get hurt from anyway?”

“Poisonous creatures,” Monika had said simply with a hum to her tone of voice, which was enough to catch Florentyna and Tatyana’s attention, “Or just fucking up the spells in general and growing something _other_ than trees or flowers. But I’d have to guesstimate there’s at least a 10% chance of that happening.” 

“I’m dropping out if that’s the case,” Florentyna immediately went quiet with panic brought to her face, “Potentially dying in a final? Gosh, I hope that wherever I’m sent, it’s nowhere bad.” 

“With that being said, any volunteers to help us begin?” The Professor eventually finished up his speech of reminders… Only to be greeted by no one at all in response. It was an expected one. After all, no students usually volunteered for such a major final such as this one. He sighed and reached for a clipboard, “Looks like we’ll have to go in alphabetical order.”

The second this was announced, all eyes had immediately gone in the direction of where Natalya was sitting. Even the Professor had already been staring at the blonde with his brow raised while all life on her face immediately began to disappear. When it came to things going in alphabetical order - it was always her first! She was the only one with the last name that began with A… The last name that she didn’t know was considered rare in this dimension! 

“…Can I take a pass?” There was a bit of sarcasm that came from Natalya as she sat there; not even mentally prepared to be the first one to go, “Or uh… do people in this dimension know of rock, paper and scissor?” 

“Very funny, Ms. Arlovskaya.” The Professor had responded with a chuckle and motioned for her to stand up. Great, there was no escaping it now.

Natalya stood up from her seat with the belongings she had decided to bring with her on this final. It had been a bag of not only items needed for planting, but some items to give her the energy she’d need to have when it came to using her powers. After all, using spells back and forth could be exhausting, which was why she prepared a few snacks to eat just in case. She had walked up to the Professor who had opened up the door to the reality chamber. 

Just entering it, she could see a pathway that she had to follow before noticing an X in the middle of the chamber. She walked in, standing directly on the X as she waited for further instructions. The Professor had closed the door and made sure to firmly lock it, followed by approaching another microphone connected to the computer so he could communicate with her in the chamber, “I notice you have a bag, Natalya. What potions are you planning on bringing along?” 

“Some elixirs and potions from our previous classes together, Professor.” Natalya had responded; the bag directly sitting at her side as she stood there, patiently waiting for further instruction, “Do I get to choose which planet I go to?”

“No,” As the Professor said this, he had moved his head away from the microphone where he began typing away on the chamber’s keyboard. Soon, from his point of view, a list of different planets popped up as he looked through them. He knew he had to be fair, but he also knew that Natalya was an intelligent girl. She knew what to do with her magic and was truly top of her class if there were statistics added up. And so, he pressed a button and continued his explanation, “The chamber will be selecting the planet suited for you and your skill level. In addition, if you are in trouble, you let us know and I will teleport you back to Lenfia. Again, you will have ten minutes to complete the exam. Do you have any other questions before we begin?” 

It seemed pretty clear to her. He had given the explanation earlier to her about how the test would work. Go to a planet for ten minutes and try to revive it as best as she could with her powers. After all, a fairy was supposed to use their powers for the greater good… This included contributing to the development of other planets. Natalya nodded after a moment and took in a breath, “I’m ready, Professor.” 

Another nod of understanding came from the man when he had heard this. Outside of the chamber, Natalya could see Florentyna and Mei waving in her direction, while Monika gave a thumbs-up and as per usual, Tatyana had that normal concerned look on her face.

“Knock ‘em dead, Natty!” Florentyna had called out in a cheer as a bright light began to form around the chamber, this being an indicator that the Professor was booting it up, “You’ll do great!”

Applauds could be heard from the audience of students in support of the fairy that was in the chamber… At least the one thing about being a first-year was that everyone was supportive of one another. After all, it was a very tough exam, and support for one another was what was going to help them get through it successfully.

Natalya took in a breath as she looked around the chamber. Lights began to form around her, and soon enough, she found that the ground had disappeared from underneath her. The Professor had pressed one more button as the teleportation sequence was beginning to turn on the microphone, “Good luck, Natalya. This is the last communication we will have. Again, we are all watching you here despite not having communication. You can do it.”

Those were the last words she had heard from the Professor before everything had gone dark for her. This had startled Natalya as she looked around, but soon enough, that was when she began to notice a change in scenery. She wasn’t in a chamber anymore… Oh no, she was seeing… Snow?

She looked at the ground at first, indeed confirming her suspicions. All it took for her was to look up to see not only snow but mountains of snow covering the area while the harsh wind blew. If there was a planet she wasn’t expecting to be sent to, it was this one, “What the hell!?” She began and looked around, her eyes widened as she held onto herself. And she wasn’t even in the appropriate attire for snow! She was wearing a pair of jeans, a normal blouse, a jacket and a pair of boots, “It’s freezing…” 

The thing was that she had no idea where she was. All she knew was that this was a very dead planet. A dead planet that had no life, which was why she knew she couldn’t waste any more time just standing there being cold. 

However, for Radella who had been watching the examination take place from her office was astonished. The cup of tea that she had been sipping from while listening to the Professor’s and Natalya’s conversation was placed down as she leaned forward towards the mirror, “The chamber…” She began in shock, clearly recognizing the planet almost immediately, “I-It’s Sparx-! The chamber sent her to Sparx?”

This was absolutely horrific to the older woman. There were plenty of planets that were struggling for survival, but since the destruction of Sparx after all those years ago… She never imagined that the chamber would choose a place such as there to send Natalya to. It had become a dangerous place since the ancestral witches had attacked. Ever since the royal family of the Braginskys had gone through the mysterious massacre, no human or magical being dared to send anyone there out of heartbreak towards the family that protected the dragon flame and heart of ice…

…Yet, for Natalya, she didn’t know this at all. And instead, it wasn’t phased at all.

“Good thing I’m wearing a coat, I guess.” Natalya had zipped up the coat she was wearing and had held her hands out to herself so her entire appearance had changed. There was no rule that she knew of with changing her attire, which she needed to with how cold it was. Since the majority of her things back in her room were packed, she had managed to summon a scarf, some gloves, and her white ushanka back from Russia to at least keep her warm as she began her test, “Okay… first thing’s first, get rid of this snow to form a food source.”

The bag that was on her hip was opened where she had pulled out a few packets of seeds to plant food. She firstly placed them in her pockets before holding her hands out; flames forming around her through her magic to at least melt the snow so she could see some ground. Underneath the ground, it was dead with no grass, but it was enough for her to work with.

With the ground being melted, she knelt down and began to dig with her hands to a point where she could reach a bit of soil. At least that was a good thing. It was enough for her to plant the seeds before covering them up; now kneeling in place as she took in a breath, “Plant the seeds and focus your powers to help it grow…” 

Her eyes were closed as she held her hands over the buried seeds she had just planted. With a breath, a bright glow had formed in the palms of her hands as she focused her powers into giving energy to the plant that she was trying to grow, “…. _Exoclium growum… bring energy and life into this tree…”_

Within seconds of doing this, a small sprout had begun to form from the ground. Natalya glanced down in amazement; shocked that it was even working. She didn’t let her excitement get to her at all though since she didn’t know if the spell would last with how cold it was in the area. And such, she had continued to focus her magical energy into the sprout; standing up eventually when it had managed to grow into a full-sized tree.

Perfect. It was going well so far. 

Planting trees was the first part of her exam that she wanted to get done, in addition to melting as much snow as she could without there being any issue. The time it took for her to do this though was enough time for the witches over at the Tower of the Dead, where a bug was planted on the magical reality chamber, to prepare the spell to interrupt her exam.

In a circle, the witches had been in a room full of darkness while cloaks were over their heads. Hand-in-hand, they stood in a circle as a crystal in the middle floated in front of them; floating in power as they were slowly finding themselves connected to the fairy that was in the chamber by herself. 

“The crystal is set to astro-project us, ladies,” Gelinda’s eyes were closed as she spoke out. On her face, a devilish smirk had grown along her lips while continuing to hold onto the other two witches’ hands. Her powers were radiating into the crystal; just enough so it could have them reach Natalya from all the way where they were, “Once we’re in, we’ll restrain her and take the powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice…” 

“But what if we can’t get it?” Nebula began, there is a bit of concern in her tone of voice which angered Gelinda a tad, “She has to unleash the powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice in order for us to get it,”

“That’s why we’re going to try and piss her off,” Aviana interrupted with a serious look to her expression, “Piss her off to the point where she uses the dragon flame and heart of ice to attack us. Then we’ll get her. And I know she will. Remember, she has a temper… And temper similar to the King of Sparx. Ironic that King Viktor’s daughter managed to not only inherit his eyes but his tempery-personality. It’ll be easy to get her angry.” 

Laughter erupted from the back of her throat. Ah yes, the one thing that Natalya still didn’t even know about herself… And the fact that the witches had managed to figure it out that she was the long Princess of the royal family, it was the perfect recipe for them, “Now, join me sisters of darkness,” Gelinda had chanted in agreement to Aviana’s statement, “As we begin our enchantment!”

A bright light formed around the crystal as laughter from Aviana and Nebula had also filled the room. Within seconds, the witches had narrowed their focus as their own spell began:

“ _Astronioto, definano, inserto… Bring us to the Princess! Bring us to Princess Natasha!”_

Within seconds, all of them had stood there with bright glowing eyes. While they were all hand-in-hand, physically in the room together with one another…

Their minds and souls had been transported to another world.

The planet that Natalya had been sent to was beginning to look a bit more alive as she worked on it. From what she had been guessing, Natalya had assumed that she most likely had about two minutes left in her exam - and already she had managed to plant a few trees. She didn’t know how long the trees would last, but that was why she had brought the elixirs. So at least after she had left, the elixirs would be able to protect the trees from the bitter cold.

In her hands, she had been holding onto a purple bottle of the potion and walking by each tree; watering it similar to any plant. It was during this time that she was distracted that a bright glow had formed behind her; which she didn’t notice at all. Instead, the bright light had managed to form three figures who had been staring at the girl almost out of lust and eagerness of getting her.

“ _Look, sisters,”_ Gelinda had spoken out to acknowledge their presence, “The little fairy is doing _so_ well on her final exam.”

Hearing the familiar voice had Natalya’s heart drop. No, she had to have been hearing things… Was this her nerves talking? She had no idea, but all it took was for her to turn her head around to make eye contact with the familiar piercing blue eyes that had belonged to Gelinda. Just beside her, Aviana and Nebula staring at her with large, creepy smiles of their own plastered on their faces.

“Oh, come on!” Natalya had shouted in annoyance and closed the bottle, clearly annoyed now. This was the last thing she ever expected in her exam. Let alone, how did the witches break in!? She thought that the chamber would have no accessibility to outside sources! “How did you get in here!? Is this part of the exam?!”

More laughter came from the witches when they heard this question. It was a genuine question - after all, Natalya didn’t know if they were real or not. The exam had been going so well that she didn’t know if the chamber was creating things that she absolutely hated. And for Natalya, the top thing on her mind that she despised were those witches.

“How cute, she thinks we’re part of the exam,” Aviana took a step forward; her hands glowing with power.

“What a stupid question.” Nebula rolled her eyes, “Considering us as if we’re extra credit.”

“You see, Natalya,” Gelinda interrupted the other two witches and took a step forward herself. In her hand, she had been holding onto what looked like a wand all while Natalya had kept her distance away from the women, “You have something that we want. So, we’re going to take it, and we’ll be off on our way.”

“Something you want?” Natalya stared in confusion as she looked around. What could she even have that they wanted in the first place!? “What?! All I have are bags of seeds. The only thing I can ever tell from you witches that you want from me is that I’m dead.”

“Wow, that’s a pretty good guess,” Aviana gave a small clap in the fairy’s direction. With her hands glowing in the air, what looked like an orb of dark magic had formed before she had thrown it at the direction of where Natalya was standing with the intention of hitting her, “Too bad that’s not what we’re here for!”

Seeing the orb of dark magic being swung at her direction had Natalya gasp as she lunged forward; dodging the attack as she rolled over and stood there on her knees. The last thing she ever expected to do was combat during an exam… If these witches were actually real, then something was definitely wrong here. They had to have been messing with her because she had no idea what they wanted from her. 

Despite it being completely unexpected, her Professor did remind everyone before the exam that using magic was permitted. The fact that she couldn’t tell if these were the actual witches or just part of the reality chamber, it frustrated her. Part of her had a feeling that this was real, so as she had stood up from dodging, she glared right in their direction. 

“Fine. I beat you witches in reality once…” Within seconds of saying this, flames out of magic soon began to form around her body as a protective barrier, “So I’ll beat you here again out of my final… _Charmix!”_

Saying that one word had resulted in the flames to form around her body; covering her in bright light as her entire appearance had transformed. As she stepped out of the light, what was once a human girl had been now standing there with wings on her back and a beautiful sparkling outfit to go with it. The witches didn’t seem phased at all by this, thus resulting in Natalya to fly into the air as orbs of magic formed in her hands.

“Just get out of here!” Natalya shouted; throwing the orb of magic right at the witches’ direction. What had looked like an innocent orb had magic had actually been a timing bomb sent right at Aviana’s direction for being the one to make the first attack, which the second it had hit her, flames had immediately burst out in an explosion that had the witches panic.

While their bodies weren’t physically in the chamber, their minds were. Aviana, who in reality had been standing in the circle with the other two witches with their hands together had let out a gasp as a throbbing pain formed in her head from impact, resulting in Gelinda to shout at her, “Shut up! We can’t let her figure it out that we’re not there. Let’s mess this pixie up.” 

“This is so much fun,” Nebula couldn’t help but laugh while keeping her eyes closed. If they were to talk through their minds, Natalya would hear them. So speaking aloud was the only way they had of in-person communication, “She’s surrounded. Should we prepare the crystal to lock the reality chamber?” 

“Indeed,” Gelinda kept her eyes closed and held a hand up in the air. Soon, the crystal had formed right above the three witches in their circle. The connection in their minds was enough for it to begin glowing rapidly, this being an indicator that being close to Natalya was doing such, “And I have the perfect attack to get her to crack.”

In the chamber, the witches' minds had taken in the form of their bodies. No one could tell that they were there other than Natalya, who was growing more and more in anger the longer those witches were there. Even with taking a hit, Gelinda’s mind in the chamber had held the wand she had, waving it in the direction of the fairy where dark power radiated from it.

“Alright Natalya, you want to pick a fight? We’ll give you a fight that you’ll never forget, starting off with disconnecting you from everyone from Lenfia,” As Gelinda had said this, the dark magic from her wand had immediately gone right in the direction of the fairy. Natalya saw this and held her arms out, quickly forming a barrier to protect her from the hit before the witch had shouted, “Now, Aviana!” 

Hearing her cue had Aviana get up from the ground with a malicious smirk on her face. All it took was for her to snap her fingers, which for the audience at Lenfia who was watching this, the monitor had completely shut down in front of the Professor and students.

“What the…” The Professor had begun in a whisper with his eyes widened, clearly shocked from this as he had begun pressing keys on the monitor to see if it would reconnect them, “I sent her the emergency button, why did I lose connection?…”

“Professor!” Florentyna had called out from the audience, clearly panicked from the sight of not only seeing the witches on the monitor but the fact that before communication was cut, Natalya was getting attacked, “We need to do something! We - We have to transport ourselves there!”

“She’s going to get hurt!” Tatyana followed up in agreement; tears building-up in her eyes out of concern for her friend, “Please, Professor!”

“Hold on, ladies. There’s something wrong here,” The Professor had turned to the microphone and spoke into it. At this point, he had pulled out a seat where he sat down and continued to use his magic in order to figure out what was going on, “There’s something wrong with the chamber. Please remain seated until I figure this out.”

With all communication lost, the entire audience of first-year students were horrified for what was going on in the chamber with Natalya. The last thing they had seen her was a formed barrier, which as the Professor was working on connecting back to the reality chamber, Natalya was still defending herself with the barrier.

This barrier though annoyed Gelinda, which resulted in Nebula stepping in with her own wand. With one swing of dark magic, the barrier was shattered in Natalya’s hands, resulting in the fairy to fly directly back and take a hit against one of the trees she had grown. This impact is so strong enough that it ended up breaking the tree directly in half.

“My head… my head…” Natalya couldn’t help but groan. She didn’t know if she ended up getting a concussion from that hit, but pain filled her body after that one hit. Even though she was down, that didn’t stop the witches from unleashing more attacks. This time by Nebula being the one to send what looked like a wave of lightning from her wand right in her direction, “Oh shit…!”

The second she had seen this, all of her instincts had gone into full gear as she jumped into the air. Using her wings, she had flown away from where the lighting was directed where she was once on the ground; watching the lightning hit the trees she had just planted. No, this wasn’t good. These witches were going to get her to fail this final just because they wanted to mess with her? 

“This is going to be easy.” Nebula couldn’t help but to laugh while Natalya stared at her direction; lightning only continuing to spark around her, “You’re going to fail this final Natalya, and soon you’re going to get kicked out of Lenfia and sent back to that boring little planet of Earth.” 

Was that why they were here? To make sure she failed so she’d get kicked out? Hearing this truthfully angered Natalya just a bit, that within seconds, what looked like sharp ice crystals had formed around her and was soon being launched at the direction of Nebula for even making that taunt, “Shut up!” She had shouted; her teeth grinding in anger seeing that Nebula had managed to dodge it.

Taunting Natalya was all part of the plan for the witches. The more they taunted her and got her angry, the better chance she had of unleashing her true power. 

The thing was that with Natalya launching her attacks, she had forgotten about the other two witches that were present. Gelinda had been right behind her, preparing to unleash another attack to make sure that Natalya wouldn’t go anywhere, “ _Trappus stoppus.”_

Those two simple words were enough for the spell to go flying right at Natalya’s direction, hitting her on the back. As it did so, Natalya had gasped, not even having enough time to dodge it until what felt like tight ropes began to form around her arms and legs all in the form of a shadow. Struggling against it only made it worse, before soon, the shadows had disappeared to form ice around her arms and legs to keep her restrained.

“What the hell!?” Natalya had shouted in anger; glaring right at the witches who had seemed to be laughing at this, “You think a bit of ice is going to stop me!? I have had _enough_ with all of you!” 

She looked up at them; her eyes glowing in the light instead of the familiar violet-blue orbs that belonged to her pupils. This was where the witches wanted to get her. Within seconds, the ice that was keeping her restrained was immediately shattered while flames began to form all around her body. Just being feet away, the witches could feel themselves melting in heat from how hot it had become. Despite this, she did stumble a bit; mainly at her head from hurting.

Her stumbling at first immediately caught Gelinda’s attention, “Look at you Natalya, you’re so weak.” She called out in laughter, “Did that hit really be enough to maybe give you a concussion? Easy win for us now.” 

No… It won’t be an easy win for them. She wouldn’t allow it. For them to break themselves into such an important exam of hers and treat it as a way to mess with her? She didn’t think so at all. And she wouldn’t let them get away with it, even if her head was throbbing in pain.

Light began to form around her body; radiating her power which was what the witches were exactly looking for. They managed to get her angry to the point where their crystals in the real world were beginning to explode with power. The second Natalya had opened her eyes, she had let out a loud scream of anger; hail immediately falling from the sky as bursts of flames in the form of walls went flying at the witches' direction.

As the attack was launched at the witches, immediately, their minds had vanished from the reality chamber. All of them, now being in their bedroom at the Tower of the Dead, had opened their eyes as they looked up. The crystal floating above them immediately glowed in power as if it were draining the energy from the attack. 

“Don’t lose it!” Gelinda shouted while continuing to hold onto the other two witches' hands, “Focus your dark energy! Submit the dragon flame and heart of ice to us!” 

“This is it!” Aviana began in laughter as the energy began to fill the crystal. 

The witches had eventually let go of the hands of each other, simply to shield their faces from how bright the room had become from the energy that came from Natalya’s power. Gelinda and Aviana had shielded their eyes from the brightness as Nebula kept watch of the crystal, “The crystal is working!” 

“We got it!” With another blast of power, the crystal was now glowing in full power. In the magical reality chamber, they had vanished as their minds were now back to their bodies. Seconds passed after the energy filled the crystal, resulting in Gelinda to grab onto it as she held it into the air, “Yes! We got it! The power of the dragon flame and heart of ice is ours!” 

The connection between the fairy and witches were lost at this point. For Natalya still being in the chamber, all of the energy that she had launched in that attack had vanished from her body. She felt weak and tired… That the second she had lowered herself to the ground, her fairy appearance had vanished, leaving her back in her normal clothes before she dropped to the ground.

It was at this point that the second the witches were gone, it initiated contact back with the Professor and students at Lenfia. 

The monitor and keyboard of the chamber had been rapidly flashing in different colors to indicate the error. That was when the Professor had noticed something in the coding, that had him stand up and glare at the screen, “…someone put a bug in the system?” He began in a whisper, recognizing what type of bug it was right away. It was one meant for witches, that had him wonder if someone had broken in and placed a bug into the system?

“Professor, what’s going on!?” It was at this point that for Monika, being one who specialized in technology had run down from the audience. All of the students were shocked when she did this, but she didn’t care. It had been a good ten minutes and already, Natalya should’ve been transported back by now, “We can’t see anything. Can’t detect her life force or anything!” 

“Relax, and go sit down. I know what the problem is.” Alas, this didn’t stop him from standing up and holding out his hands. He needed a counterspell for the bug, and quick since he had no idea what was going on with Natalya at that point. The audience of first-years had continued to watch intently; waiting to see what the Professor would do as a bright glow of magic filled his palms, “ _Esso esses_!” 

The flashing from the monitor immediately came to an end the second the spell was cast. This was enough to stop the bug from disconnecting them, which had the Professor now look at the monitor to see if any contact could be made…

…Which once it did, everyone had been exposed to the sight of Natalya dropped on the ground of the chamber, unconscious. 

“Go get someone from the infirmary,” The Professor shot a look over at Monika, already beginning to head into the chamber to let Natalya out, “Quickly.” 

A nod was given by Monika when hearing this, which within seconds, she had begun to sprint out of the lab to one of the buildings on campus that had the infirmary. The sooner she could find the nurse, the quicker she could get to Natalya.

The audience of first-year students were horrified to see the sight of Natalya on the ground unconscious. No one knew if she was okay or even alive, which was why the Professor had run in and knelt down in front of her to check her neck for a pulse. Fortunately, he could feel something, which resulted in him to sigh in relief and stand by until someone from the infirmary could come. 

It took less than three minutes for Monika to indeed find someone. After explaining an emergency that had taken place in the magical reality chamber, the nurse had came with the student quickly to where the Professor and Natalya had been. The nurse, who had used her own magic to bring a bed to get Natalya to the infirmary, immediately shot at glare right at the Professor, “What happened?”

“A bug got into the system,” The Professor began with a sigh of frustration; mainly at the fact that he still had to go back out and conduct more exams… Now, he didn’t even know if these first-years wanted to go through the exam after seeing _that, “_ I need to speak with the headmistress about this. A few witches sabotaged, or I suppose were pulling a prank, during Ms. Arlovskaya’s exam…”

“A prank?” Monika had spoken out now, interrupting the faculty member as her brows narrowed, “They almost killed her! Professor, pardon me for interrupting, but are we really going to be continuing exams if witches from the Tower of the Dead did something to the chamber?” 

It was a fair point that was being made. Professor Polonium let out another sigh as the nurse examined Natalya before soon, what looked like the magical stretcher came out of the chamber to bring her to the infirmary, “Go with Natalya… and when she wakes up, tell her she passed her final with an A+.” As the nurse was handling Natalya, the Professor had stepped up towards the microphone of the laboratory and cleared his throat. Great, how was he supposed to break the news? 

“…I am sorry you had to see this, ladies,” He began, “But exams are continuing. It won’t be through the magical reality chamber due to complications, but instead, I will have all of you come up one by one and demonstrate for ten minutes in front of me what you planned to do in the world you were transported to.”  


With being a Professor, he always had back-ups. A back-up plan in case something had happened, there was still work that needed to be done. 

The rest of the students were astonished that after what had happened, there was still to be an exam to be held. Monika though indeed listened to the Professor’s instructions of going with Natalya and the nurse to the infirmary. Her and Natalya’s friends seemed to be shocked by the audience, but all Monika could do was text in their group chat that she would be back soon.

Getting to the infirmary gave the chance for the nurse to conduct a healing spell to help Natalya wake up. When she did, everything around her hurt. She wasn’t bruised or had any wounds, but the fact that the witches had attacked her and she had used a great amount of power, it was enough to knock her out, “My head…”  


“Thank goodness you’re alright,” The nurse sighed seeing that the spell had worked, “You took a real beating back there.”

Natalya was startled seeing that she was in the infirmary, realizing that she wasn’t in the magical reality chamber. What even shocked her more was seeing Monika, who looked absolutely relieved seeing that Natalya was conscious again. Still, this didn’t stop the girl from looking around and asking, “What happened? Did I pass?” 

“…You used your entire magical energy, dear.” The nurse explained before reaching for a cup of water, handing it to the girl, “I think you may have a bit of a small concussion, but just rest for now. Once you're rested up, you should be feeling back to normal.”

Used up all of her magical energy… Goodness. All Natalya remembered before everything going dark in her mind was being so angry at those witches… Breaking her into that exam of hers saying that they had something she wanted? She had no idea what they were talking about, which had her sigh and lay back down in frustration.

“Hey Nat…” Monika spoke out as she had been seated in a chair beside the bed. She reached over, grasping onto the other’s hand with a smile that caught Natalya off guard as she looked over, “Good news is that you passed your final. Professor Polonium asked me to tell you once you woke up.”

“Really?” What looked like relief immediately filled Natalya’s expression the second she heard this. After working so damn hard on that planet; planting trees and flowers while also melting snow? She had thought she was going to fail the second all her work was destroyed thanks to the witches, “Wow… I guess I really did beat the witches.”

“What was that all about anyway?” The other had asked. Monika was clearly in shock from the entire experience. After all, playing the role of a spectator when the disconnection had taken place was horrifying, “Why would the witches go after you?”

“I have no idea, Monika.” Natalya responded to her while staring right at the ceiling, trying to collect her thoughts, “They said I had something of theirs that they wanted… No idea what that means. I’m just assuming they’re still pissed from the fight on Magix with Florentyna and Mei… So they decided to take it out on me when I’m literally in one of the biggest exams of possibly my career at Lenfia,” 

“Don’t worry,” Monika reassured her and stood up, giving her hand one more squeeze before pulling back, “The Professor plans to report it to the headmistress…

…who’ll definitely make sure those witches get in trouble.”

* * *

Watching the entire scene play out in her office was one of the most horrific things that Radella had ever seen throughout her entire career as a headmistress at Lenfia. Witches breaking in, putting an enchanted bug onto the magical reality chamber, and breaking into a student’s final exam? It was absolutely unacceptable.

For her, reporting the incident was very easy for her to do. Not even seconds after Natalya had been brought out of the chamber, Radella had already contacted the headmistress at the Tower of the Dead, exclaiming in anger of what she had just seen from her students. She had warned those witches to stay away from her students, yet, there they were again, messing around and interrupting an important exam for a fairy. 

“I am absolutely disappointed, Evanora!” Radella had been looking towards a projection made from her crystal ball on her desk, where she could see the headmistress of the University of Dark Arts looking almost as horrified as she was, “I told your students to stay away from my students. And look at what they did again! This is completely unacceptable. If these ladies aren’t punished appropriately, especially after what was discussed at our last meeting with the Magix’s council about how I am concerned for Natalya Arlovskaya, I will bring this up to the council too with your lack of discipline!”

“Do you always have to be a canister of salt, Radella?” There was a sigh that came from Evanora hearing these words, “This is the third time, and I am tired of having to deal with them. I agree that this is unacceptable, but what am I supposed to do? You and I know witches have been targeting fairies for centuries. It’s in their instincts.”

Yes, she was very well aware of what was going on at Lenfia. Since Radella had called a meeting with not only the faculty of all schools in Magix but the entire Magix council about there being a potential chance of the dragon flame and heart of ice returning… Everyone secretly was instructed to monitor Natalya. 

Radella especially was in charge of figuring out who this girl was. 

“Yes, even if it’s their instincts, I _do not_ care.” Radella had slammed her fist on the flat surface of her desk, clearly annoyed at the other woman, “We already had this discussion. We have no idea who Natalya is, and I can’t even get a confirmation of who she is without _your_ students interrupting me studying her. I need to figure out if she is really King Viktor and Queen Alyona’s daughter. The girl doesn’t even have a clue that we’re doing this, which is why I am putting my foot down on you. Tell your witches to stay away and let me figure this out. Suspend them. Punish them. Take away their magic,” She snapped, “…And do you want to know the most amusing part of it all?” She leaned forward toward the projection, “Me, a former _fairy godmother_ is telling a _witch_ how to discipline. Usually, it’s the roles reversed, but here we damn are.” 

There was a silence that came from Evanora. The thing was that, Radella was indeed correct. It was true. Fairies weren’t the type of people to unleash punishments on others… It was usually witches who handled it. It was quite embarrassing for her, to say the least, “…Okay Radella, you win.” She took in a breath, “I’ll seek to it immediately that these girls are punished. If this happens again, I will expel them. No hesitation.”

“Good,” An annoyed expression still remained on Radella’s face. She was still angry with the situation. There was also the matter too that now, she could only imagine how all the first-year fairies didn’t even want to continue on with their exams… But there was nothing that could be done. They had to continue and finish.

“…Glad we’re in agreement.”

* * *

The dorm room was locked at the Tower of the Dead. After the three witches had successfully completed taking the power of the dragon flame and heart of ice, it was now the next part of the ritual, which was to inherit the powers and make it their own.

“Finally, the dragon flame and heart of ice is ours.” Gelinda looked at the crystal in her hand that radiated in power. She could just feel the powerful energy coming from it that the longer they stood there, the more she found herself becoming excited at the thought of successfully completing the mission that their ancestors weren’t even able to complete years ago, “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for!”

“Let’s complete the ritual now,” Nebula spoke out as what looked like a pentagram was drawn on the floor with chalk. 

With candles at each end of the star, the crystal that had contained the power was placed in the middle while the three witches surrounded it. Each witch once again held onto each other’s hands as they all were in focus, directing their power toward the crystal in order to connect to it.

“No one will be as powerful as us…” Aviana spoke while dark energy began to form around the three witches, “We will rule with the ultimate powers of the entire magic dimension… We will make this dimension better than the former King and Queen ever could…” 

_…You shall never have the power of the dragon flame and heart of ice, so long as my daughter lives._

The voice had immediately filled the air. As the witches heard this, all of their eyes had shot wide open to be greeted to the sight of the crystal on the ground exploding and shattering into pieces. Aviana had jumped back to avoid getting hit by the glass of the crystal, while Nebula had ducked and Gelinda had held her arms out in protection.

Within seconds, the fires from the candle had all went out. The room was met with complete darkness until Aviana had gotten up and turned on the light to be greeted to the confusion on the other’s faces.

“What… What was that?” Nebula asked and looked around, horrified at what they had seen, “Did you guys hear that voice too?” 

“Who was that?” Aviana followed-up with the question, unaware of who that even was in the first place.

That was when Gelinda realized it. The magic…. The crystal being shattered… She didn’t care of whoever the voice was. Even if it was someone they summoned, she slammed her foot in anger, “The dragon flame and heart of ice!” She had dropped to her knees now out of frustration, “It’s gone!”

“WHAT?!” Both Nebula and Aviana had exclaimed, before soon Aviana had run over to where Gelinda was kneeling, “It got away!?” 

“How!?” Nebula knelt herself down and inspected the pieces of the crystal… Yep, it was fully destroyed at that point. There would be no chance of saving it at all if they were to put all the pieces together, “And we were so close!”

“This is bullshit!” Gelinda stood up and stepped away from the pentagram. The cloak that was over her shoulders was tossed onto her bed while she ran her hands through her hair, clearly frustrated from what had happened, “The dragon flame and heart of ice was supposed to be ours! It was once that voice came, the crystal shattered! I don’t fucking care anymore.”

As she said this, she shot a look at the two witches with a serious expression on her face. In the midst of their conversation, they had no idea that outside their door, there had been administrators standing just outside to retrieve them after Headmistress Evanora had her call with Radella. Even with being unaware, Gelinda had angrily kicked the candles away from each point of the pentagram to put away, now angered enough to give energy and determination to her.  “…The dragon flame and heart of ice belongs to us, and we will get it no matter what!”

* * *

Outside the window of where the witches were hidden, a figure in the shape of a spirit was present. A beautiful mask in addition to a luxurious golden gown was placed on the spirit that had taken on the figure of the woman; watching the magical beings of darkness. Her expression was angered, but alas, she stopped them from proceeding any further from obtaining the true power. 

As for how long she'd be able to stop them, she didn't know. 

Hopefully soon, she thought to herself, her dear daughter would awaken as the Princess and stop these witches from bringing any more terror to the magic dimension. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished the chapter early! Since I have it done and I'm VERY eager to start working on the next chapter (a huge important moment is coming in the next chapter), I wanted to get this up so I can start on it. 
> 
> I may be able to get the next chapter up early? We'll see! I have finals next week, so I want to get chapter 8 up before I have to focus on work. I'd say keep your eyes out for a chapter tomorrow or 5/15/2020! 
> 
> We shall see! Until then, see you soon! <3


	9. A Great Secret Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How did it get away!?” Nebula knelt herself down and inspected the pieces of the crystal… Yep, it was fully destroyed at that point. There would be no chance of saving it at all if they were to put all the pieces together, “And we were so close!”
> 
> “This is bullshit!” Gelinda stood up and stepped away from the pentagram. The cloak that was over her shoulders was tossed onto her bed while she ran her hands through her hair, clearly frustrated from what had happened, “The dragon flame and heart of ice was supposed to be ours! It was once that voice came, the crystal shattered! I don’t fucking care anymore.”
> 
> As she said this, she shot a look at the two witches with a serious expression on her face. In the midst of their conversation, they had no idea that outside their door, there had been administrators standing just outside to retrieve them after Headmistress Evanora had her call with Radella. Even with being unaware, Gelinda had angrily kicked the candles away from each point of the pentagram to put away, now angered enough to give energy and determination to her. “…The dragon flame and heart of ice belongs to us, and we will get it no matter what!”

The ending of finals for students at Lenfia was one of the biggest reliefs to come for all students. From the first years to the third year, everyone had been looking forward to returning home for the winter break. This winter break would last for an entire month. From Christmas to New Years, it was important that students of the magic dimension got to spend time with their families before having to return to another intense semester before summer break rolled around. 

While finals were very interesting for students, especially with the incident that had taken place with the magical reality chamber, a majority of the first-years had passed their environmental-based exam and were free to go. Not only Natalya, but Florentyna, Monika, Mei, and Tatyana had all successfully passed with their plans on bringing life to a dead environment by using their magic. 

Going back to Earth after spending weeks in a world full of magic was one of the weirdest transitions Natalya hadn’t been expecting. One of the biggest rules that she had to follow when going back to Earth was that she was not permitted to use magic at all-around humans… Yet, she had no intention of doing so. The last thing she needed was for someone she knew seeing her flying around with fairy wings, recording her, and sending it off to every news station in Russia. 

No, Earth wasn’t ready to know that magic existed in the first place. She’d only use magic so long as she had to and it was only around her family.

Returning home was one of the many things her family had been looking forward to from her. When she walked through that doors, it was almost as if a celebration had taken place with a banner being hung up to congratulate her on successfully completing her first semester of university, in addition to an arrangement of dishes for them to all feast on. 

The best part: Natalya got to have her deserving glass of vodka after going weeks from not having it specifically from her country. Sure, there was liquor in the magic dimension… But she was from Russia. Russians drank vodka. While she was still only seventeen, her family wasn’t as strict as other parents and let her drink a little early under discretion. 

Having a home-cooked meal under the home of her father and her two siblings was very nice. It was there that Natalya had the chance to catch up with all of them, tell them how things were going, and even tell some of the crazy stories she had encountered from how expensive things were in Magix to dealing with witches who had issues with fairies like her.

When the meal was finished, Natalya had volunteered with her older sister to handle the dishes while the two men handled cleaning up the dining room. It was a fair trade-off, which for Natalya, she didn’t mind doing this at all. The fun part about it too was that Anya had decided to make a cake now that Natalya was back to celebrate, so the sooner they were all finished cleaning, the sooner they could all eat the cake that was baking in the oven.

Anya had at the sink rinsing the dishes while Natalya had been in charge of loading them into the dishwasher. It was nice doing things that she hadn’t been able to do in months… Which was weird, because, in the magic dimension, everyone relied on magic. But here on Earth? She missed being able to put a bit of labor into her efforts. 

In the midst of washing the dishes, the two sisters did engage in conversation. As Anya had been working on washing some plates, she had asked the other blonde, “So how long did the university give you for your break?”

“About a month.” Natalya had taken each plate that was on the drying rack; putting each plate into the washer neatly before turning around for a moment to retrieve some soap to put in.

The response of a month had Anya pout, “That’s so unfair. My college only gave us two weeks,” There was a bit of sarcasm as she said this, which had Natalya roll her eyes at the other blonde while she continued searching for the soap, “Still, that’s pretty good. At least you get to properly relax before starting the Spring semester.” 

“I know,” Natalya had eventually managed to find the soap for the dishwasher and placed it onto the counter. With a flick of her thumb, she had opened it to pour the soap in, “That’s why I’m taking advantage of it… by sleeping, drinking, and avoiding to use magic any chance I get.”

Laughter erupted from the woman when she heard this. If there was one thing that definitely hadn’t changed during Natalya’s time gone, it was her sense of sarcasm. Anya had eventually finished rinsing the dishes and went to go check on the cake in the oven. It seemed to be going well, but she didn’t know if it was ready yet? “Well, you’ve grown a lot since I last saw you, Natya. And I’m not talking about your height.”

A rag that was resting on the counter was quickly picked up, to which Natalya had rolled it up and whipped it right on her sister’s back. The older woman gasped and looked at the younger girl with her brows furrowed, before soon, Natalya began laughing, “Oh, shut up! You’ve been calling me short since the doctor said I’d never grow again.”

“And it’s _hilarious.”_ A small pat on the head was given by Anya onto Natalya’s head. Ah yes, Natalya had stood at a height of 5’3” while she was at a good 5’8”. It was interesting, seeing that Natalya was the shortest family member of them all, “Don’t worry. You have fairy wings, so you can fly up and reach cabinets easier.” 

There was an eye roll given in response by Natalya. Did her sister always have to tease her about anything? Then again, she felt as though that was part of the experience of being the younger sibling… Or more of, the ‘baby’ in her family. In the midst of their conversation though, Anya had been distracted more teasing on Natalya than on the cake in the oven…

…Which resulted in a bit of smoke to fill the air.

“Big sestra, is there something burning?” Natalya had removed the hand from her head with her brows furrowed in suspicion. 

Anya, who had completely forgotten about her cake, gasped as she turned in the direction of the oven where indeed smoke was coming out from it. She panicked, rushing over to it and quickly turning the oven off before opening the oven… But the damage was already done, “My cake!” 

Natalya had stepped over and looked inside the oven, only to be surprised at what she was seeing. It was indeed a cake alright…. A very black one, to say the least, “Take it out of the oven,” She spoke out, which resulted in her to hand over some oven mitts to her sister to take it out while she had begun to open some windows in the kitchen to clear out the smoke. 

Part of Natalya was trying to hold back her laughter, but she didn’t say anything for the sake of not wanting her sister to get even more upset. Seeing her chocolate cake getting burned like that had Anya pouting as she put it on a cooling rack; staring at it almost shamefully, “And I was watching it too! It looked all fine… I guess I wasn’t paying attention to the heat of the oven… I’m sorry, Natya.” 

“…What are you apologizing for?” Natalya rose a brow and looked at the cake, not even phased by it. Sure, it was black, but that didn’t mean she could recover it. As she stood beside her sister, she held her hand over the cake as a bright orb of magic had filled the palm of her hand. This startled Anya, but she was silent as she watched what the girl was doing, “… _Reversus.”_

The magic that had come from Natalya immediately surrounded the cake. Within seconds, the black and burnt appearance it once had was turned into a normal-looking cake. This shocked Anya as she looked at her sister… That was right! She knew magic - and she could fix things like this! 

“Natalya, that was amazing-!” Anya began before poking at the cake. It looked back to normal and seemed to be ready to be iced, “How’d you do that!?”

“Don’t get cocky,” As she said this, Natalya looked at her sister with a small shrug before reaching over to pull out a bowl and their stand-mixer so they could work on making the frosting, “I learned this spell from school… Anything that’s damaged, there’s a way to reverse it. Plus, I only saved your cake. Nothing crazy."

“Still…” Anya was still amazed by it. If Natalya didn’t have her powers, well, it would be a very sad day in their household, that was for sure, “You may not be good at house chores, but your powers really are damn amazing.

“Perks of going to a magic college for fairies,” She was teasing again as she finished bringing out the ingredients for the frosting of the cake. Once everything was set, Natalya had put on an apron and tossed one to her sister, “No home economics class, but classes about transformation and kicking witches ass.” 

It was a true statement… She had battled witches more than any other fairy she knew. And it was always those three - Gelinda, Aviana and Nebula. Since the final exam in the magical reality chamber, Natalya had no idea what had happened to them. When she had woken up from her small concussion, she had been told that she passed and the headmistress would be handling the witches.

Well, the headmistress indeed did handle those witches good. It was after Natalya was on her feet and back to normal that she was brought to Radella’s office, where the headmistress apologized for what had happened during her final and explained that the witches were going to be punished by Headmistress Evanora at the University of Dark Arts.

What she didn’t know was that their punishment was a suspension from the university. After the Spring semester began, those three witches were not permitted to be on the University of Dark Arts’ campus. It was only after their suspension that they would be able to return to classes, regardless if they were behind all of their work…

…Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula didn’t care about the suspension at all. It was enough time for them to proceed planning different ways in order to trap Natalya and obtain her power as they had failed before

But with winter break being in the midst of all of it, no one in the magic dimension was able to get to Earth. Natalya had been the only special case of being permitted to go back to Earth since after all, she was from there. 

The rest of the evening in the household was very relaxing. There was no need to worry about encountering other magical beings and spending that holiday season with her family. There was also the fun part about Christmas being that following week, which meant the entire city of Moscow was already preparing to present the annual ‘Krampus’ stories to scare children into being good.

It was one of Natalya’s personal favorite times too.

Going to sleep in her own bed after a day of traveling and spending an entire evening talking with her family was a good way to end the day. For she knew that the next morning, it would be back to her regular routine that she’s had the majority of high school…. That being, waking up and doing her usual chores around the house

And her father really was taking advantage of the fact that she was there.

The following morning, Natalya had been greeted to the chores list in front of the fridge with her name under the shopping list. She supposed she was fortunate since it looked like her sister would be working in their family’s shop while her older brother, Dmitri, was in charge of cleaning around the house.

The family shop that their family ran was a small bakery. It was a bakery that had come from her mother, whose dream was to bake goods for foreigners who decided to visit Russia. Since her passing when everyone was younger, the family had worked together to keep the shop open. Now, foreigners throughout the world visited the shop to taste an authentic Russian dessert or baked goods.

Usually, the shifts rotated between the siblings too. In this case, it was Anya and Natalya’s turn to run the shop. Anya was specifically handling the morning customers, while Natalya would be in charge of going to the market to buy some ingredients to be delivered so they could have a fresh batch of baked goods to be sold the next day. 

She left early that morning in a jacket and some warm clothing. After all, it was wintertime, so she wanted to stay at least warm when she went to the market. It was perfect timing as well when she had exited the house with her sister’s bike and the list of items that she had to get, seeing that her father had been about to head off to work with a coworker of his.

“And there she is, little miss Natya not being lazy for once,” The taller Russian male who had been standing beside his car had held his arm out to the girl, which resulted in Natalya to approach the other where he had pulled her into an embrace and kissed her forehead, “Sleep well?”

“Better than I have since finals season,” Natalya couldn’t help but mutter to Vladik, before soon she was met by chuckling from another tall male that she assumed was her father’s coworker.

“Wow Natalya, when your father said you really changed, he wasn’t kidding,” As she listened to the other male, Natalya stood there with an unamused expression on her face, which was very normal for her, “Good to see you again. What country did you study abroad in, again?”

“…France.” Natalya blurted out since she didn’t know if her family had gone around and said what country specifically she was ‘studying abroad’ in. The reality was that she was on a whole other dimension attending a magic school for fairies… But no one needed to know that. 

The thing was that the coworker of her father’s seemed to have believed it as he nodded in amazement, “So, I would imagine you picked up French there? Tu es parle Français?” As he had switched from the Russian language to French, a chuckle managed to escape from Natalya now.

“ _Nyet.”_ She responded back in their original native tongue while she held onto the handles of the bike she was holding onto, “Still only the motherland language, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and English. I wish I could speak French though. More to add to my resume.”

Laughter came from Vladik when he heard this from the girl, now patting her back so she could get onwards with her chores, “A smart-ass girl like always. Go on and get your work done, darling. I’ll come to see you and your sister after I get off work."

That was a fair enough deal. With a nod, Natalya had stepped away from the two older men and crawled onto the bike. She gave one quick wave, “Bye, papa. And have a good day today,” She called out, before soon turning her direction towards the gates of the house so she could leave. 

One thing that she remembered about this neighborhood of her home was that it was very quiet at first. It took about five minutes to reach the main shopping plaza of the city, which allowed her to freely ride her bike through bike path lanes. It reminded her of how she would always be doing her chore routines before going to the magic dimension… It was a nice change of pace, and she was glad to be experiencing it again.

Not just seeing all of the shops, but the little things that she loved about Earth. Not only was there no magic, but the fact that everyone was so active in Moscow with one another. There was also that boundary of personal space and respect towards one another, which for her, was a great thing since she didn’t have to deal with anyone…

…That was until as she was getting closer to the shopping district, she heard what sounded like a vehicle parked beside her. 

“ _Well well well, if it isn’t Ms. Natalya Arlovskaya back in Moscow.”_

Oh no. There was only one voice that recognized… The voice that made her want to punch herself in the face for having to listen to it. With a frustrated sigh, Natalya had slowly turned her head over to be greeted to the familiar green orbs, large fluffy pink jacket, an insane amount of make-up and perfume that made her want to vomit, “…Hi, Feliks.”

If there was one person that Natalya did not want to see when she returned to Earth, it was _him._ One could describe her relationship with Feliks was… As her childhood bully, really. The one who would pick on her for her appearance, the fact that her family wasn’t as well-off as his, or even pick fights with her since no one thought she would have the guts to fight. The reality was that she wouldn’t hesitate at all to pick a fight with Feliks if he really wanted her to.

And she hated it. Always, she just had to breathe and this damn man would come out of nowhere to try and ruin her day. Whether it be her doing something innocent or nothing associating with him, he always picked on her. She hated it. She really hated it, when she never did anything to him.

It was at this point that after the many years of knowing him from schooling, she came to the conclusion that he was jealous. Jealous that she had a loving family, jealous that she wasn’t rich as him - she had no idea! 

“So, where have you been?” As Feliks was parked beside her in his car, he had crossed his arms with a bit of amusement brought to his lips in the form of a smirk.

She didn’t have to answer him at all. Oh no, instead, Natalya rose a brow and answered vaguely, “Away. I need to go, Feliks. I’m working.” Just as she was about to continue to walk away, the car beside her had crept up closer to her and followed her.

“Duh, that doesn’t answer my question,” Feliks insisted, wanting to know exactly the details of what she’s been up to. After all, she’s been gone for over four months. No one simply dropped out of high school to go to a school abroad. It didn’t make sense to him… Especially for someone like Natalya, who had a full-blown scholarship at their school, “Away, where? There’s a rumor at school that you were sent away to reform school.”

Hearing this had her eyes widen. What the actual hell was he talking about? People were starting rumors about her when she didn’t even do anything? “…One person sees that I carry a pocket knife once when we were fourteen, and automatically people assume that I’m going to reform school. Wow. Another one to add to the books of assumptions made about me,” The unamusement was still in her tone of voice. 

She didn’t react as Feliks expected, which resulted in him only press on the subject matter more, “What is it, then? Did your father ship you off to military school? Or a school meant for rejects and outcasts?” Laughter came from him. The more and more he taunted her, there was more of a chance of Natalya wanting to punch him in the face...

...Or better yet, turn him into a pig with her magic.

But the thing was that unlike him, she had some self-restraint. Still, this didn’t change the fact that her grip on her bike was tight; having her shaking just a bit from anger, “Listen, Feliks,” Her tone of voice was stern and strict, this being an indicator that she wasn’t trying to mess around at that moment, “I am working right now. Come bother me with something more stupid maybe after I finish college before you do.”

This was something that Feliks hadn’t been expecting at all to hear. College?… And here he thought that she was studying abroad. Did that mean she got into a college program before everyone else in their class? It was not a secret that she had the highest grades in their class, but the fact that she disappeared from their school to take college courses was absolutely shocking to him.

“I’m going to find out where you went, Natalya.” Feliks began, remaining parked on the spot while Natalya already had begun peddling away on her bike, “Whether you like it or not.”

“Sure,” Another eye-roll was given by Natalya, “Hopefully I _won’t_ see you later. Take care.”

With saying this, Feliks sat there in the driver’s seat of his car absolutely shocked at what he had heard. Hopefully _not_ seeing him later? Who did this girl think she was with running off without giving an explanation? He was going to figure it out and was determined to do so.

Alas, Natalya didn’t care at all as she continued to ride her sister’s bike through the streets of the shopping district. There was one thing she had determined from that interaction with Feliks, and it was the fact that he hadn’t changed at all since she had left months ago for Lenfia.

Yet, she knew she definitely has changed since returning to Earth.

Something was wrong. Riding her bike through the streets and stopping at the stands that she needed to get items for the shop… It didn’t feel like her old routine that she’s been doing for years. With one market stand, she got through it quickly with ordering some flour and yeast… Then at another stand, she makes sure other products were chosen to make things such as icing and fudge were picked out as well. 

However, something was different. That was when she noticed it at the last stand she had to go to.

While the shopkeeper had been off retrieving an order form for her to fill out, Natalya had stood there waiting patiently before she noticed something. The shop keeper… There was a spirit floating over his head. Her eyes widened when she saw this, resulting in her to rub them quickly before lowering her hands once more. The spirit was still there. What was it? Did she still have a concussion to the point where she was seeing things? 

“What is going on here…” Natalya couldn’t help but whisper to herself. By the time she was given the form to fill out, she was silent requesting the items that her family’s shop needed before providing a signature and handing it to the shopkeeper. 

The shop keeper seemed to be smiling at her innocently, but that spirit that lingered behind her seemed to been staring right at her chest. Immediately, she felt discomfort come all around her as the owner spoke, “Thank you. We’ll have your order delivered to your shop tomorrow morning. Have a good day.”

“…Thank you…” Natalya was still a bit uncomfortable. Seeing that she could just feel that spirit staring right at her ass too when she had left, she wondered if she had unlocked something of her powers? 

She grew up on Earth her entire life and never has this happened to her before. It was almost as if she could see the auras of any human being. It didn’t happen with magical beings, so it had to be a case for only those on Earth. As she stepped out of the shop, that was when she could see it. Anyone she was to pass by on her bike as she made her way toward the direction of her family’s shop, she could see auras following different people. 

Some of these auras seemed angry, calm, or even happy. 

“Maybe it’s because my charmix grew stronger at Lenfia?” As she talked to herself, she sighed and kept her eyes focused up ahead. It was a weird thing to unlock while she was on Earth. Let alone, the fact that it didn’t happen with anyone else she knew from Magix and just from those on Earth - it was really uncomfortable to her.

The bike ride to her family’s shop was a good ten minutes. It was a good exercise since it allowed for her to at least see the things that she missed about Moscow after being gone for so many months. Arriving to the shop it was just as calm as usual, yet, there was one thing different.

In front of the shop seemed to be a… limousine? It looked like a very nice car. One that she only saw in movies, per se. She noticed that there was a driver in the car waiting, which she then concluded it was a customer who was stopped outside the entrance for whoever the main passenger is was getting something inside the shop.

The bike was placed on the side of the shop where she had chained it up before walking toward the entrance. As she walked inside, that was when she saw it. Walking in, she had seen her older sister sitting down at a table with… Two men, who seemed to be in business suits? Natalya was confused, but it seemed that they were in the middle of shaking hands in agreement with something.

“I am really excited about this!” Anya began with a large smile on her face before she had pulled her hand back from shaking the two businessman’s hands, “Now again, I’d have to bring this up with my father since this is my mother’s shop. But I’m sure he would be in favor of this great opportunity—“ The sound of the door opening had her look up to see if it was a customer. But instead, she was greeted to the sight of Natalya all bundled up from the cold, “Oh! Natya, perfect timing! I’d like you to meet some people."

Some people? Natalya’s brows rose as she removed her gloves; placing them on the counter of the register while the receipts she had in hand for their morning deliveries were placed on top of the gloves. She approached her sister and stood beside her, meeting eyes with the two men, One of them seemed to be a tall man with auburn hair, brown eyes, and glasses, while the other one was a shorter blonde with blue eyes and a beard that made her gag. 

It made her remember how she was not attracted to guys with beards at all. Oh no, if Alfred decided to grow one, she wouldn’t kiss him until he shaved it.

“This is Mr. Smirnoff and Mr. Popov,” Anya explained as Natalya had shaken her hands with each male, “Possibly one of our new business partners.” 

“Hello, Natalya.” The first male, who Natalya had assumed was Mr. Popov as she listened to him speak under their native tongue of Russian, “A pleasure to meet you.” 

“…You too.” Natalya began and looked at her sister with her eyes narrowed a bit. Business partners? What did her sister mean, business partners? “What do you mean? You’re not actually planning on suggesting to papa that we sell the shop, are you?” 

“No no no,” Anya shook her head in reassurance to the other before wrapping an arm around her sister’s shoulders, “We’re still going to own the shop, but they’re going to own the shop name. That way, maybe we can brand the business into different countries in Europe… Maybe even in America! Isn’t that great?” 

Opening different shops in other countries? As Natalya heard this, those words that her sister had given her had gone through one ear and out the other. Mainly at the fact that she found herself staring at the two businessmen who seemed to be smiling innocently at the two women…

…Though for Natalya, she was seeing something completely else.

Behind the two men, she could see those auras again. The same auras that she had seen with other people. Instead of capturing emotion, these auras presented a sense of dark energy. The dark energy that her powers would kick in full gear as she could see these auras chuckling maniacally… That wasn’t a good sign at all.

_“And here’s another poor sucker falling headfirst into our trap!”_

_“These Arlovskys have no idea what they’re walking themselves right into. Once this shop is ours, we’ll fire all of them and make this shop into a car insurance agency.”_

Disgust immediately formed on Natalya’s expression as she listened to these auras speak. It was hard to believe that these were the businessmen thinking that… But she had learned one thing about her powers, and that was the fact that it never lied. A fairy’s magic was a part of them that would make them aware of anything, even those who didn’t have pure hearts of light.

“We should be on our way,” Mr. Smirnoff had shaken hands once again with Anya, a large smile plastered on his face before the two businessmen began to make their way to the exit of the shop, “We’ll be back later this afternoon with the contract. And do please bring your father, I’m sure he would be happy to hear about this proposal indeed.” 

“Absolutely!” Anya had given them a small wave as the two walked out of the shop, “See you soon.”

Watching the two men walk out of the shop had an annoyed look formed on Natalya’s face. There was no way her father would ever agree to sell part of the shop… This shop was the last thing she had of her mother before she had passed away all those years ago. And to branch out the business to different countries? It was all a lie!

“Don’t you think this is amazing, Natalya?” Anya had gotten up from her seat and pushed it in, now walking over to the register to pick up the receipts that her younger sister had brought for ingredients to be dropped off for their shop. She placed them under the counter for their father before standing there; resting her chin in the palm of her hands, “Our family branching out to different countries. I’m sure this is something mama would want for us.”

There was a silence that came from Natalya. She didn’t have a good feeling about this at all. Instead of answering the other, she had removed her coat and hung it up on one of the coat racks before stepping behind the counter to put an apron on. It was, after all, time to get to work, “Did you already finish making the pirozhki filling?”

Anya stood there in confusion. Was… She ignoring her? This immediately made her wonder if she had done something bad. If there was one thing that the poor girl had, it was a bit of anxiety. And getting Natalya angry wasn’t a good thing at all. Actually, it was quite scary. But she couldn’t tell… Maybe she was overreacting? “Yes, I did. It’s in the kitchen,” She responded and watched as Natalya nodded and went directly to the kitchen.

Something wasn’t right.

“…Natalya?” There was a bit of a nervous tone of voice that came from Anya seeing that the other wasn’t responding. Instead, walking into the kitchen, she already saw Natalya beginning to wash her hands and arms to begin working on making fresh pirozhki to go out for the afternoon customers, “Is everything alright?” 

“Yes.” Natalya had shot a look at the other with an annoyed expression, “ _Completely_ fine. Why?”

The harshness that came from that wording had Anya tense up. That was enough of a confirmation for her to know that Natalya wasn’t happy at all. She could feel herself getting scared, but she remained calm as she approached the other with a frown, “Well… You don’t look happy ever since those two businessmen came. Aren’t you happy about the business expansion? We’ll be able to spread mama’s message throughout the—“

“—Anya,” Natalya had turned off the sink and looked at the other with a serious expression still on her face. Being interrupted was something that Anya hadn’t expected, but soon enough, the other continued, “Those businessmen are taking advantage of you. Advantage of our entire family.”

“Taking advantage of our family?…” Anya was confused while watching her sister walk off to dry her hands and put on some plastic gloves, “What do you mean, sestra?”

“I can see people’s auras.” As Natalya said this, the gloves were on and she had gone behind a cabinet to pull out the ingredients to prepare some dough for the pirozhki. She looked up at her sister, seeing that she had a shocked expression on her face, “As a fairy, I didn’t know this was possible, but I can see how humans feel. This includes how people are on the inside.”

See how people were on the inside? To Anya, this sounded amazing. But also concerning, especially since it didn’t look like Natalya was happy at all. More or less, she seemed angry than happy about the business proposal, “Is this something you learned from Lenfia?” She had asked while continuing to watch the girl begin to take some measurements for the dough.

“ _Nyet._ ” She responded while measuring out what she needed. If anything, Natalya was still uncomfortable by the fact that she could sense how people were feeling. She didn’t even know it was possible until riding through the streets of Moscow on her bike, “But I saw their auras. They’re conmen. They’re trying to steal our shop to make it into something else. We can’t trust them.”

“But Natalya…” This was all of a shock to Anya. She knew that her sister was very ordinary and special with her powers, but after the conversation, she had with the businessmen? She thought they weren’t trying to start anything, “They seemed very polite. Are you sure you’re not jumping into conclusions?”

“ _Please,_ Anya!” Natalya put her hands down, which indeed startled the other girl. There was now a frown on Natalya’s face, this being an indicator that she truly wasn’t happy about what she saw, “You have to believe in me and my powers. If I was retaught one thing at Lenfia that papa already taught us, it’s that as a fairy, I’m supposed to be using my powers to protect others - even my family. I’m saying this because they have this dark energy and are lying to you. Lying to all of us.”

The way how stern Natalya was behaving seemed to be that she was taking it seriously… It was hard to not believe her. If anything, she knew Natalya would be in favor of the business plan. She was always the type of person to say yes to opportunities. So for Natalya to say no to something for once and claiming that the men were scammers… Anya sighed and approached the other to give her a hug.

This hug was unexpected, but it was indeed something that Natalya felt like she needed to calm herself down. She stood there with her sister; continuing to work on the dough while Anya kept her arms around the younger on, “…Okay, Natalya. I believe you.” She began in reassurance, “Once these men come later today, I’ll tell them to leave us alone.” 

That was all Natalya needed to hear. So long as they stopped communication with these businessmen and ended the deal, everything would be alright. She gave a nod at her older sister in agreement before soon pulling her hands back to hand the other some gloves, “Now help me with this before customers start coming in at noon.” 

The remainder of the morning was very calm after that whole event in the shop. The businessmen were expected to return later that afternoon with a contract and the expectation of meeting the real shop owner, which was Anya and Natalya’s father. After Natalya had seen what she saw, Anya didn’t contact their father at all. Instead, she planned on handling these two businessmen on their own to dismiss them. 

The two sisters had worked in the kitchen together, preparing over a hundred pirozhki to go out to customers that planned on coming in for lunch breaks. Usually, that was when the shop was very active other than the early morning when people were off to work and needed something fresh and made to eat for breakfast.

It was during this time too that they had caught up on a few things. Mainly Anya discussing of the things that had been taking place at her university, since after all, she was a senior herself about to graduate in the Spring, as well as for the other activities that she did outside of school and work such as ballet and gardening. 

For Natalya, it was the same thing. Explaining what she was doing at Lenfia, her friends that she had made, the classes where she had learned more about magic… But what really managed to kick off their conversation was when Anya had asked about how Alfred was doing. It was no secret at this point to her family that Natalya was in a relationship, which was enough of a reminder for her to plan on calling him later tonight to let him know she made it back to Earth. 

No discussion was made of what she and Alfred did behind closed doors. Oh no, what they did together in private was for none of her family to ever find out. Instead, Natalya had explained on the dates they went on - from picnics to seeing movies, to getting ice cream together, or just hanging out with friends when classes weren’t in session. And of course, how every Saturday Alfred had flowers delivered to Lenfia for Natalya. It was a sweet gesture, which for her, she absolutely loved. 

The sound of a bell going off at the entrance of the shop had the two women stop in their conversation, thinking that there were customers already coming in. Natalya had followed just behind Anya who had gone ahead to greet whoever it was from the counter, “Welcome!” She began, though the second she had recognized who it was, her brows raised, “Oh… Mr. Smirnoff and Mr. Popov. You’re back so soon.”

“Well of course,” The taller male, Mr. Smirnoff, had spoken as the two males had approached the counter. Anya had already stepped around while Natalya stood at the register, watching closely to see the interaction, “We brought the contract for your father to sign - but, is he not here?”

“Actually,” Anya began with a stern tone of voice. Whenever Natalya heard this side of hers come out, it usually was very serious. Natalya smirked from the corner; pretending to not be paying attention while she had been loading fresh pirozhki out to be sold later, “I called my father, and he is in complete disagreement with the idea. I tried to convince him, but he said that he’s not ready to expand the business.” 

“…What?” Mr. Popov had spoken out in shock, clearly not understanding where the woman was coming from, “But just a few hours ago, you and your family seemed ready to sign the contract.”

“What happened?” Mr. Smirnoff had followed up to the question, “We had a deal, Anya.”

The entire time Natalya heard this conversation, it was so hard to hold back her laughter. This was great. Seeing two conmen not getting what they wanted. She remained silent still, not trying to engage or participate in it at all.

Anya, on the other hand, was putting her foot down. She wasn’t going to allow for these men to continue tolerating around there, trying to lie to her about this being a good thing… So, she’d lie back at them easily, “Nothing happened.” She answered, “I thought my father would say yes, but he said no. And I’d like to respect that decision. As I explained in our earlier conversation, this was a shop that my mother dreamed of building. Since she passed away, she left it to him and her children to take care of it. I’d like to respect those wishes. We may expand in the future, but as of right now, my family is not interested.” 

What seemed to be angered expressions formed on the two men’s faces. This didn’t phase Anya at all. Instead, she kept her guard up while Natalya was smirking at the two men’s direction. Mr. Smirnoff had cleared his throat and took a step towards Anya, “You know… Accidents can happen. If an accident happens, we’d be able to provide top quality insurance for this shop as well—” 

“The decision is final.” Anya had cut him off, this startling the two businessmen at how strict the woman had become.

The entire time, the businessmen seemed to have disappointed smiles on their faces. However, from Natalya’s point of view, all she had to do was look up to see their auras once more… And those auras didn’t look happy at all. She could see anger, frustration, and even hatred towards Anya by those two men. 

“But as we said,” As Mr. Smirnoff had said this, he had motioned his hand towards Anya which had her stand back. His hand instead had hit directly at a sunflower plant that was resting on the register before it had taken the hit and fell to the ground, shattering into pieces, “…Accidents happen. Oops.”

“Okay, now this is the time where I tell you to please leave the shop.” Anya looked at the flower pot, indeed heartbroken to see it because after all, sunflowers were her absolute favorite flower… And there were these two buffoons walking in and doing this? “If we are interested in the future, we will reach out. But for now, it is no.”

The two men weren’t happy at all. With their backs turned away from Anya, the two had begun marching out of the shop out of anger, “You’ll regret this, Anya.” Mr. Popov had called out to her, “You and your entire family will regret not signing with us.” 

“Goodbye, gentlemen,” Again, Anya wasn’t phased from this at all. Instead, the second the two men had left, she had let out a small sigh of relief as Natalya from the register had rushed over to her sister to see if she was alright.

Though what she was seeing was more sadness about the flower and flower pot that was destroyed. Natalya sighed softly when she saw this and looked around at the shop's windows to see if there wasn’t anyone around. So far the coast was clear, especially now that the two men had left. With a handheld out, an orb of magic had formed in the palm of her hand towards the pot, “… _Reversus.”_ She had said the same spell from the previous night with the cake. Within seconds, the shattered flowerpot had been back to its original state with the flower not harmed whatsoever, “I guess you can say the good thing about having a friend that’s the fairy of all nature, you learn that some spells can work on plants too.”

Anya noticed this and knelt down, picking up the now fixed pot before letting out a small sigh, “Thank you, Natya…” She began and placed the flower back near the register, “Not just for that, but for warning me. You were right about those men.”

It was a relief to Natalya now knowing that they wouldn’t have to deal with those men after what she had seen. The thing was that she loved her mother’s shop… It was a comforting place and brought good memories to her. While she didn’t remember most of them since she was only five when her mother had passed away, it still reminded her of the good times as a toddler going around smelling delicious food while greeting customers that had known her family for a long time.

Since the encounter at the shop, things ran smoothly for the rest of the day… And so far with the rest of the week. With it being just around Christmas time, the shop was very active with customers visiting and getting goods for their families. It also gave Natalya a chance as well to see customers that she’s known for years, who all seemed to be happy that she had returned from ‘studying abroad’ for the last few months. 

Two days since the incident at the shop had passed. The business had been running per usual, with their older brother or father checking in on occasion to see how things were going. Natalya had been in charge of the register for that morning while her sister and brother were off in the kitchen working on making things. Anytime a customer was to come in, Natalya would greet them, fulfill their order, and send them off to take care of the next customer.

The morning shift was the busiest right beside the lunch shift. Though towards the later afternoon, it was quieter. When school was in session, there would be a lot of students coming in for a cup of coffee or baked good to eat with friends. But that didn’t seem to be the case at all.

It was quiet that late afternoon. Natalya had been sitting at the register staring at the television that was playing near the tables set for customers to sit and eat if they chose to. Nothing entertaining had been playing. It had just been the news discussing a potential snow storm coming later that weekend. This was expected for Moscow, so she wasn’t surprised at all. 

The good thing about this too was that every Christmas, her family traveled. So while the storm would be taking place during Christmas, she and her family would be going to Italy for Christmas. It was a pretty exciting thing, especially since for Natalya, she missed traveling with her family during long breaks. Every year her father would take the children to a new country. While they all had been to Italy before, the food was simply just too good in the country that it was mutually agreed that they would go back for Christmas.

As stood there waiting for more customers, Natalya had felt her phone buzz in her back pocket. And it wasn’t a phone call either. She looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone around before she pulled the device out to be greeted to the sight of a message from Alfred. Natalya opened the message to be greeted to one text message:

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:05 PM): Hey babe. Did you know when we eat popcorn, we’re technically eating busted nuts? 

You (14:06 PM): …What.

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:06 PM): I mean, come on! You told me you’d never tell anyone you’ve given me a blowjob. So instead, you can brag about how you’ve eaten popcorn and tasted a busted nut before. ;)

As she read these messages, she facepalmed. He was flirting with her. Anytime he was bored, he did this just to mess with her.

You (14:08 PM): Alfred… I’m working. 

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:08 PM): You sure about that? What’s a girl doing on her phone responding to her lovely boyfriend then, hmmmmm?~

You (14:09 PM): I mean, there aren’t any customers. So I can use my phone for now until someone walks in.

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:09 PM): Did you at least find my joke funny?

You (14:10 PM): All it did is remind me how I have a pervert for a boyfriend.

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:10 PM): owo so you wanna go to the movies with me and get some busted nuts after it once break is over? 

You (14:11 PM): Did you just ‘owo’ at me?

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:11 PM): owo, answer the question, Natalya.

You (14:12 PM): Answer *my* question, Alfred.

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:12 PM): yes. owo. 

You (14:13 PM): Okay, then yes for movies. I should have never let you in front of the internet on Earth.

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:13 PM): How come?

You (14:14 PM): Because you just HAD to ask what text slang we use here on Earth, I answered the question, and now I feel like you’re doing that to tease me.

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:14 PM): uwu I’m swowwy natty, XD. 

You (14:15 PM): I fucking hate you.

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:15 PM): I love you. <3 

In the midst of their conversation, her eyes were rolling in unamusement. Always Alfred loved to tease her… Even if it was getting her flustered or just to annoy her, he always found it cute. Regardless, just as she was about to type a message back to him, what she hadn’t been expecting was for the sound of glass shattering to meet her ears.

She shot a look up from the register to be greeted to the sight of what looked like a brick thrown directly through the entrance of the shop. This had startled Natalya as she walked around the counter to examine what had happened. Before this, she texted the other back real quick.

You (14:17 PM): Hold on. I’ll be back.

Alfred  💕🌼 (14:17 PM): ??? Alrighty. I’ll be here, hun.

The phone was put away before she knelt down to inspect the damage. It looked like a regular brick… But the thing was that bricks don’t just go flying out of nowhere. The good thing was that it didn’t hit anyone, but it was loud enough for her brother and sister to come out of the kitchen.

“Natalya,” Dmitri had walked around the counter and approached the shorter girl, “What was that?” Concern immediately filled his expression. Though all it took for him was to see the glass shattered on the ground in addition to the brick as he gasped, “Wha — What happened!?”

“Is there anyone outside?” Anya had walked past the glass and opened the door of the shop to look around. So far, it looked very dead and empty outside… No one was around, “Was it a hit and run?”

“Probably.” Natalya began and stood up, staring at the brick in her hands while her older siblings inspected the damage. As they did so, a bright light filled her eyes as she focused her magical energy into the brick… The brick soon turned into an ordinary sponge. Good thing she learned about the transformation of things in Professor Keldan’s class about metamorphosis. 

“This is great… Now we have to look into paying for new glass for the doors…” Dmitri began with a small sigh, clearly disappointed at the sight of it. Who would do such a thing to them, he wondered? 

While her siblings had been trying to investigate the scene, Natalya had walked over to the shattered door to examine it. The brick in her hand slowly glew with power, which caught her older siblings' attention as she used the sponge to clean up the broken glass of the door. With each movement, the door that was once shattered had turned back into a normal door, “ _Damaga Erasus_ ,” Natalya whispered under her breath in an enchantment spell. All it took was for a few seconds, but the glass and broken door was completely done… It was as if there was never damage in the first place. 

“Wow…” Dmitri turned to look at the younger girl with amazement brought to his expression. All it took was for a little spell of hers, and she was able to repair the damages easily, “You’re really amazing, Natalya.” 

“You can say that again,” Anya chuckled and closed the door of the shop, “At least we don’t have to worry about damages.”

“…I wouldn’t be too certain on that, sestra.” Natalya explained with a small frown to her lips. The sponge that she had used was placed onto the register’s counter before she crossed her arms in thought, “I think we should invest in some security cameras outside of the shop, just in case. We don’t know who did it. It could happen again. Nothing will stop them.”

This was a fair point that Natalya was making, which had the two siblings look at each other in surprise. Dmitri nodded and reached for his phone from his pocket, “I’ll make a few phone calls. Don’t worry,” He reassured the two, now placing a kiss against Anya’s and Natalya’s foreheads before dismissing himself to the kitchen to see if someone could come by to install some security cameras.

Especially with them all planning to go on a trip later that week for Christmas, it was best that the shop stays at least protected and guarded in some way. 

Despite the events of that day taking place, the rest of the week was fine. The three siblings worked in the shop, while back home they were all taking care of packing their belongings to prepare for this trip. Their flight was scheduled to leave Saturday morning, three days before Christmas. Which when the day arrived, their vacation was to last for the next two weeks.

Being back in Italy was one of the highlights of spending Christmas. Not only was it warm and relaxing, but the wine and food were absolutely amazing. There was also the tourist activities that they all got to go on, such as visiting famous Cathedrals and museums that had artwork of many famous artists. Even Natalya had sent pictures to her friends and boyfriend of what she had been doing, especially anytime she was to be eating a delicious meal with her family. 

Christmas was just as grand as well. Their father, who was known to be a well-off businessman, made sure that there were special arrangements made for each child. They were staying in a very nice hotel room where in the morning, they were greeted to not only an amazing breakfast but presents for all of them. 

Spending time with her family on a holiday like this really did mean a lot to her. It wasn’t all about the presents, but it was for that sense of love that they had towards one another. She knew she was very fortunate to have a family like her siblings and father. They weren’t the wealthiest, but her father was a good businessman that knew how to handle financial responsibility by taking care of his children and making sure bills were taken care of. 

As she was in the middle of opening her gifts, Natalya had been joking around with her siblings just as they normally would with one another. Though what she didn’t know was in addition to that Christmas morning, there had been a figure watching from the window. 

The beautiful figure was silent as she watched the scene take place in the hotel room. Part of Alyona’s heart ached to know the truth about that family… The thing was that the siblings didn’t know about Natalya. Only the father knew the truth about who she was… Which made her wonder when the father would tell the real truth of who their family was.

It only made her wish that one day, her family would be able to celebrate a Christmas like that together with her daughter just like they used to years ago. 

“… _Merry Christmas, my darling… Soon, we will be together again on Sparx and never miss on spending a Christmas together again.”_

A bright light came from the window as she vanished. When the light increased, even Natalya had noticed this as she looked from her spot on the ground and rose a brow. She didn’t know it had been of a figure disappearing, especially since all it took was one look to see that it was the sun shining outside.

It was an indication that it would be a beautiful day in Italy. A beautiful Christmas morning, without a snowstorm, nonetheless.

The remainder of their vacation was just as exciting as Christmas. But alas, all fun things must come to an end. Leaving Italy after two weeks of traveling, eating delicious food, and seeing tourist sights to go back to reality was one thing that all of them weren’t looking forward to. There was nothing that could be done, other than accept it as the entire family went on their flight back to Russia.

Returning to Moscow was a good feeling. While the entire family enjoyed spending time in Italy, being back home was more comfortable for all of them… Especially since none of them spoke Italian. The fortunate thing was that some parts of Italy had restaurants that had English speakers, which the entire family all spoke minus Russian… But the majority of the time, that wasn’t always the case. 

The next day after returning from their trip, it was back to work as per usual. While Vladik was off working, Dmitri, Anya, and Natalya were all in charge of running the shop for that day. Since they weren’t able to get ingredients ordered to be delivered to the shop, for the sake of worrying that someone would steal them, ingredients were delivered to their home. Dmitri had been carrying two boxes, while each girl had been carrying a box of their own while walking to the shop.

The convenient part about it was that the shop was only a ten-minute walk away from their home, so it wasn’t bad at all. 

“I miss Italy…” Anya couldn’t help but let out a small, tired whine as she yawned, “I got to drink whenever I wanted, and now I have to go back to school _and_ work…”

“It’s not so bad,” Natalya commented while they walked. Eventually, when they all did arrive, Dmitri had been in charge of opening the door to the shop since he had the key, “Besides, in the summer we get to travel again.”

“Yes, but that’s more than six months away, Natalya,” A small eye-roll was given by Natalya when she heard her sister say this. Anya was simply being herself… She loved going on vacation and not having to work. So going back to a normal routine after an amazing vacation was not what they all wanted…

…Especially with returning to their normal lives with a surprise meeting in their shop.

Dmitri’s eyes had widened as the keys in his hand had dropped to the ground the second he had opened the door, “Oh… oh my god, oh no…”

“What?” Natalya had pushed past him, clearly confused, “What’s wrong?—“

There was no need for an answer to that question. Instead, Natalya had been greeted by what her brother had been seeing. The shop… It was completely trashed. The tables were thrown, chairs were broken, there were ingredients that they needed to cook thrown everywhere… And the best part was that the cameras that their father had installed were destroyed right in the middle of the shop. 

“Holy shit!” Anya couldn’t help but gasp and cover her mouth seeing the sight of the mess. She never was the type of person to curse, but seeing all of the damage brought anger to her expression immediately, “S-Someone broke in when we were gone!? A burglar!?” 

As Anya had begun to look around the shop, Natalya had placed her box down and walked over to the cash register. It seemed to be fine at first glance. All she did was type in a few buttons into the register, watching it open up seeing that she got the code right to inspect it. Right away, she saw the money that they had made from two weeks ago still there, “No, sestra,” She began and revealed a stack of rubles that was completely untouched, “It wasn’t a burglar. If it was, they would have stolen the money too…”  
  
“Then who could’ve done this to us?” Dmitri had asked and walked to the register to see if the money was there. And indeed, Natalya was correct - all the rubles were still in each separated stack, “And why?”

“Easy.” Natalya looked at the cameras with her brows narrowed in suspicion, “…It has to be those two businessmen. Why else?” 

“Natalya, are you sure about that?” Anya had asked with a small frown to her lips, “I thought the second I told them to stay away, they would leave us alone.”

“Yes, but don’t you remember what they said?” Natalya insisted and held her hands out to the cameras. It was there that with her magic, she had quickly repaired the cameras so they were in its original state, “They told us we'd regret saying no. I think we should call the police, let them review the camera footage, and we can figure it out from there.” 

“That means we’d have to close the shop for today then…” There was a small sigh from Dmitri as he reached for his phone. He really hated calling the police, but what else could be done? 

The second he stepped outside to call authorities, this was when Natalya and Anya had broken the news to their father as well. Vladik was not happy to say the least getting a phone call when he was at work about their family shop being completely destroyed and trashed. He had left work only two hours after showing up, only to meet with his children at the shop where police eventually had arrived.

The repaired cameras by Natalya were given to the police while they inspected the shop for the majority of that morning. Never once did the family ever experience a case such as this, especially since they weren’t expecting to return to their shop with detectives and police looking around for evidence. 

The conclusion was made that they wouldn’t get an answer for three days to determine whether or not it was the con businessmen. It took a while for them to review footage, which truly angered the entire family since there was no time to waste on catching the men. Though all the police could do was suggest to clean up the place and once they figured out the culprits, then they can press charges on the damages. 

The issue was that they still had a business to run. They couldn’t afford to keep the shop closed for an entire week until they could clean it and repair it… That was until Natalya had waited for the police to leave and she was all alone with her family in the shop. Everyone was upset and heartbroken from everything… Especially since after all, it was a shop that meant truly a lot to them. 

“I could fix it,” Natalya looked over at her father with a small frown, “If I can use my magic, I can repair everything right now and we can get back to work—”

“No, Natalya.” There was a strict answer given by her father, which indeed caught her off guard. Vladik was absolutely upset by the mess. Mostly, he was angry at how the police were handling it and claiming that it would take up to three days to figure out who the culprits were. He approached the younger girl and placed a hand on her head reassuringly, “I don’t want you to use your magic. We need to figure this out and make sure these people pay for their actions… We can’t just keep letting them get away with this. First our door, now this? We aren’t responsible for the mess. And you aren’t responsible for it either,” He gave her a small smile, “It’s going to be okay.”

Maybe he was right. Maybe she shouldn’t be using her magic to help something like this. After all, before she had even discovered she had powers, they would be on the same exact boat. She shouldn’t have to use her powers to fix an issue that these businessmen brought upon them. Instead, they had to pay for what they did.

“I’m just glad this happened now,” Vladik explained and cupped Natalya’s cheek reassuringly before grabbing the keys to his car. It was better to not waste any more time and bring everyone home, “No one got hurt. Let’s lock up, we’ll go home, and try to relax for the rest of the day until the police tell us what we can do.”

There was nothing much that could be done after that. Still, even with her father trying to reassure her, there was something that felt wrong about the entire situation for Natalya. Leaving the shop with her siblings and that car ride home was one where she kept staring off into the distance. 

The thing was… In her heart, she felt like something bad was coming. It was as if her powers had been telling her to be careful. As she looked out the window in thought, she thought to herself, ‘ _Something feels wrong…’_ Natalya thought, trying to figure out how to process from the entire situation. The trashed shop was just the first part, but there was negative energy in that shop that had her think that something else was coming, ‘ _It feels like something terrible is going to happen…’_

It was a lingering thought that she had for the rest of that day. Just as Vladik had suggested, the family did relax at home. Dinner was made, they all had watched a movie, and had tried to figure out a way to see if they can distract all of themselves from the events of that day. Since they couldn’t open up the shop until after the police were finished with the investigation, everyone was expected to stay home during those next three days of waiting. 

Going to bed that night, she was absolutely uncomfortable. Her mind couldn’t shake off the negative feeling, that she ended up staying way past her usual bedtime just laying in bed with this shaking fear that something was going on. Exhaustion did creep up to her eventually, which did have Natalya fall asleep in her bed in silence… Yet, being asleep didn’t avoid the scary feeling.

She had been moving back and forth on the bed; tossing and turning while breathing heavily. In her mind, she was having a dream… It was a dream of a beautiful garden of flowers. All of it being beautiful flowers… And she was there in her fairy form. For any fairy, being in a meadow of flowers was absolutely amazing. She was flying, enjoying the scenery until she looked down at smelling something.

It smelled… Like smoke. 

In her dreams, she had turned around to see the sight of all of the flowers burning in flames. She had panicked in her dreams, using her powers to at least stop the fires… But her magic wasn’t working. The flowers were continuing to burn and burn until they turned into ash. 

An innocent flower turning into nothing but ash through a flame.

This was enough to startle Natalya in her sleep as she shot herself awake, letting out a panicked scream as she held onto her head in frustration.

_The shop. The shop is in danger, little one. You must hurry._

There was that voice… The voice that she recognized immediately. Natalya looked around, almost hoping that she could see the figure - but alas, she saw nothing, “Alyona? Is that you?” She had asked, though she was greeted by silence. It was a simple warning, that Natalya had slammed her fists on the comforter of her bed realizing that it was gone, “Damn it!”

Despite being startled awake, her scream was enough for her father to hear from down the hallway of the bedrooms. He had walked into the girl’s room; confusion brought onto his face as clearly, he was exhausted, “…Natalya? Why are you screaming?” He began, clearly confused seeing that the girl was wide awake, “It’s almost 2 AM… Did you have a nightmare?”

As he had said this, he had approached the bed and placed a hand on Natalya’s head comfortingly. It was indeed soothing for her, but it wasn’t soothing enough to stop her from getting up, “Papa, I had a vision. We - We have to go! The shop, it’s on fire! We have to go!” 

“On fire?” Vladik had stared at the girl with concern on her face, “Are you sure?” 

“Yes!” Natalya had already begun putting her shoes on and grabbing her coat, “Please, papa! We have to go.”

Seeing how eager the girl was to go, Vladik let out a nod of understanding before rushing downstairs to grab his keys and coat. While Anya and Dmitri were still asleep, both Vladik and Natalya had been the ones to rush down to the garage to his car. She had climbed into the passenger seat while he had gotten into the driver’s seat before soon backing out and driving in the direction of where the shop was.

It was at this point that for Vladik, he wouldn’t question what Natalya was thinking. She was apparently the one who warned Anya about how these two businessmen were conning. Then she was acting all strange today after the whole discovery of the shop being trashed… But now? Her powers were telling her something else, which he wouldn’t question at all. 

Driving to the shop would only take less than five minutes. Though just driving down the road, Vladik indeed noticed that there was a big pick-up of fog around the area… He had turned on his windshield wipers to see if it would help, but as the fog increased, he realized it was smoke. It was after turning one corner down the road that the two were exposed to one thing they hadn’t been expecting at all.

The shop - the bakery that was started by their family - was engulfed in large flames.

Vladik’s heart immediately dropped as he parked to the side and climbed out of the car with Natalya following just behind him, “Oh my god!” He had gasped and reached for his phone, immediately calling an emergency hotline for a fire department. Natalya was right - the shop was on fire! As he had been making the phone call, Natalya was standing there, just as heartbroken as he was, “I need help! My entire shop is on fire - I need firefighters here immediately, please! The situation is already very serious, I don’t want the fire to spread to the other shops here.”

“Mama’s shop…” Seeing the sight of this was absolutely horrific. If there was one thing she never expected to see, it was that. Her powers were right… Alyona’s voice was right… There was a fire, and she had a gut feeling that is was going to happen since leaving that shop earlier that day. Tears indeed did fill up in her eyes at the sight of this. 

How could this happen? There was one thing that truly angered Natalya, and that was if someone had decided to attack or hurt her family. It was the same case with her friends and loved ones too… If anything had ever happened to her friends at Lenfia, or even Alfred for that matter of fact - she’d be just as angered and heartbroken too.

“Natya, stay in the car,” Vladik had called out to the girl when he noticed her simply standing there, “The fire is too dangerous. There are authorities coming right now to come put it out.”

“But I need to take care of this,” Natalya rubbed her eyes, holding herself back from crying. No, she couldn’t let something like this scare her. She wasn’t the type of person to cry… Crying showed weakness, and she refused to be seen as someone weak, “You stay here and let the authorities come.”

“Natalya Aleksandrina Arlvoskaya!” Her father’s tone of voice was strict as he grabbed her arm, forcing her back and away from the shop, “You will not. There are professionals coming. We have to wait,”

“Nyet, papa!” Natalya had snapped back at him; her expression full of worry and concern as she pulled her arm back, “The fire station is on the other side of the city! It’s going to take them twenty minutes to get here, and we can’t waste any more time. If we don’t the fire will spread…” She took in a breath, trying to present herself calm rather than flustered, “Let me at least try to contain it… I’m a fairy that can use the manipulation of fire and ice. I can control it.”

The older male, however, wasn’t agreeing to it at all. Instead, he held onto the girl’s shoulders; his expression just as strict as hers. He was playing the role of a father now, not some sort of person trying to warn her, “Natalya, no you can’t. You may be a fairy, but you can’t forget that you were human before this whole situation happened months ago. I refuse to let you go in, I do _not_ want to lose you like I lost your mother all those years ago. Please, Natalya.” 

“Yes, I _can!”_ As she had said this, Natalya had forced herself to turn around and held her hands out. Now she was angry. Angry and scared for her mother’s shop, that as she held her hands out, a bright glow of magic had filled the area to clear out the smoke. The flames that were at the door had immediately disappeared as she did this, which immediately got Vladik to go silent. The fire was still active inside the shop, but she did enough to stop the fire from spreading, “Please, papa! Just listen to me!” 

Vladik let out a small sigh. Seeing that small stunt from her had him decide maybe he should listen… After all, she was the one who had claimed that there was a fire going on at the shop. And upon arriving, she was right. And she was right again with being able to control the flames of the fire, “Okay, Natalya.” He began, “But I’m coming with you. I can’t let anything happen to you…” 

That was enough of a deal that she could handle. With a nod of understanding and agreement, Natalya had taken her father’s hand and walked in the direction of the shop. The flames were still very large inside, but she already had an idea of what she planned on doing. With her hands held out, bright magic had filled the area as soon, the two individuals were surrounded by a large barrier. This barrier would be able to keep them safe, as well as prevent any harm coming at them from the flames.

“This barrier won’t last for long,” Natalya began as she looked at her father, “The spell will last for ten minutes. It’ll give me enough time to stop the flames inside.” 

Since she seemed to know what she was doing, Vladik nodded in understanding. Since the flames had managed to break down the door, the two had walked through the entrance of the shop to indeed see just how bad the flames were. Everything was engulfed… From the chairs to the tables, to the kitchen, to even the cash register. It was such a beautiful shop being destroyed by these powerful flames…

…This was something that Natalya wasn’t going to allow at all.

However, in the midst of looking around, Natalya went quiet. All of these flames… It was so much fire. Where has she seen so much fire? She hasn’t been in any other situation where fires had taken place… This was the first time she had ever seen a large fire like this before. Not even in Magix had she experienced a fire-training thing.

But what came next though was more horrific. 

It was the sound of a baby… A baby crying loudly.

“This is so sad…” Vladik couldn’t help but comment as he looked around. Everything that his wife had worked so hard on to ensure that her dream would live on after she had passed… All damaged. He looked down at Natalya, noticing that she was standing still and not moving, “…Natya?” There was no response given by her, “Natalya?”

“Do… Do you hear that?” Natalya looked around, still trying to find the source of the crying. It was definitely a baby. A baby was crying — did someone leave a baby inside the shop? “I hear a baby, papa. There’s a baby in here-“

“… _What?”_ Confusion immediately filled Vladik’s expression when he had heard this. A baby crying? He looked down at the girl, noticing that she was staring off into the distance, “What are you talking about? I don’t hear anything at all, Natalya.”

While Vladik may not have been able to hear anything, Natalya was definitely hearing something different. That was when it hit. 

_Her eyes had glew in the light as she stared forward. It was as if she had been transported back to a flashback sequence where she was standing in the same exact fire. When Natalya had turned around, her father wasn’t behind her. Instead, she looked around in panic and stepped forward to seeing that… She wasn’t in the shop at all? No… It looked like an ordinary kitchen of a house. A regular house that she had never seen before._

_The loud crying of the baby only continued. It was beginning to frustrate her - where was the baby coming from!?_

_“I’m coming!”_

_Her father’s familiar voice rang in her head. Natalya looked around again, expecting to see her father come out from behind her… But instead, she was shocked to see him kneeling down in front of her. And what was mainly different was that… Did he look younger? Younger and in different pajamas. Was she in the past?_

_“I’m going to save you! Hold on!” Vladik had dropped to the ground, moving away burning pieces of wood from behind her. His hands were going through her legs, which had Natalya turn around to see what he was digging at._

_Behind the burning wood and rubble, was a baby. A baby who was crying loudly with a beautiful blanket swaddled around it. Vladik had stared in horror when seeing the infant, but soon, a voice filled the air._

_'Save her… Please protect and take care of my baby. You and your wife will take care of her, and when she is ready, she will come back and save her true family.’_

_“Whoa…” Vladik had reached over for the infant, astonished to see that it was unharmed. The second the baby was picked up, it continued crying loudly, which Vladik had immediately begun to rock it slowly before noticing something on her neck. It was a locket… A locket with her birthdate and a nickname, “…So your name is Nata? I wonder if that’s short for something…” He began with a smile, before soon realizing where he was. With the infant in his arms, he had immediately rushed out of the flames, “Don’t worry, we’ll protect you..”_

_The crying from the infant soon calmed down as it was rocked. The fire soon increased, leaving Natalya standing there with the sight of what looked like a barrier that was protecting the infant until someone could rescue it._

_"_ S-Somebody! Please, help!” 

“Natalya? Natalya, look!”

The voice of her father immediately filled her ears, resulting in Natalya to snap out of her trance that she was in. What the hell was all that? Why was her father in her head holding onto a baby in a fire? She had no idea, but the second Vladik had spoken out to her in reality and pointed ahead, that was when she saw it. 

It was a man… Not just any man. A man she recognized as the driver from the vehicle that belonged to Mr. Smirnoff and Mr. Popov. He seemed to be wearing his driver’s uniform while he crawled through the rubble of the fire, “Help!”

“Papa, I’ve seen this man before. It’s their driver-“ Natalya began and looked at her father with widened eyes, “-of the two businessmen. He was parked outside the shop when they tried to convince Anya to sign the contract.”

“I’ll go get him,” As Vadik said this, he had removed his coat and stepped out of the barrier to reach for the man. The driver looked to be an older man, which Vladik had held out his hand towards him, “Here sir, we’ll help you. Grab my hand,” 

The older man noticed this, indeed startled to see the sight of the woman and the older man. But of course, the driver nodded and took the hand as Vladik helped him up. Once he was up, the coat was placed over the driver’s shoulders to protect him as he was brought inside the barrier. 

No one knew that he was in the shop in the first place. Let alone, how he got in there. Once the two were back in the barrier, Natalya looked over at her father, “Bring him outside for fresh air. I’ll take care of the fire, papa. Trust me.”

Silence came from Vladik when he heard this. She seemed to be very determined… Which he nodded in agreement before beginning to lead the older man outside, “Just please, be careful, Natalya,” 

She waited for the two to disappear outside. The last thing she needed was for a human to see what she was about to do… Plus if someone had discovered she had powers while she was on earth, she could get in huge trouble. So once Vladik and the older man had disappeared, she had formed her hands into fists and closed her eyes.

Magical energy began to form around her as she put her mind into a deep focus. A deep focus whereas the seconds passed, her power only continued to grow. Her eyes were glowing when she had opened them before she had held her hands towards the direction of the flames while she shouted an enchantment, “ _Extinguish flamus!”_

Her powers radiated throughout the shop as she began the casting of the spell. Moving her hands around, the magic had flown to different areas of the shop that were mostly full of flames. As she focused her power, the fire slowly began to die down rather than an increase in size. She didn’t stop though, not until all the flames were out. 

Finishing the enchantment, her magic has soon disappeared from the air the second she could hear sirens taking place from outside the shop. The majority of the bigger flames were gone, which had her sigh in relief, “Finally, the authorities are here…” Natalya took in a breath and made her way to the exit of the shop, where she was indeed greeted to the sight of two large firetrucks and workers already on the task of starting the smaller fires that did exist.

She was quick when she stepped out of the shop, not wanting anyone to question why she was inside it in the first place. Instead, she had looked around for her father. She saw him at where an ambulance was, the older man who was trapped inside earlier currently being treated by being given oxygen. Natalya rushed over, which her father sighed in relief seeing that she was alright before pulling her into a tight embrace, “Thank goodness you’re alright, Natya…”

“See,” Natalya looked up at her father with a reassuring smile, “I told you… But, what I want to know mostly is…” She looked at the older man who seemed to be quite upset. He had finished taking in the oxygen the medical staff in the ambulance had provided and was drinking water, “…What were _you_ doing in the shop?” 

_“…_ Trying to stop Smirnoff and Popov.” The older man answered, which had shocked expressions form on Natalya and Vladik’s face, “I was told to drive them to this shop this late… But the second I saw them starting to pour out gasoline and toss matches, I ran in to try and stop them, threatening to call the police…. So they knocked me out. By the time I woke up, I had seen the fire already beginning to spread.”

“…What!?” Vladik was angered now when hearing this, “They started to attack my wife’s shop all because we refused to make business with them?”

“It’s what they do, sir.” The old man coughed slightly and reached for the oxygen mask to take in a few breaths. After a moment, he lowered it and looked down, “They attempt to scam businesses, and if businesses don’t agree, they’ll try to ruin your life until you agree to sign on with them… That’s what they did with my business. I ran a limousine business, and they threatened me the same way… So I signed the contract and work for them… I just needed the money too because I have a family to take care of, you know.”

“Yes,” Vladik crossed his arms and glared down, “But so do I. I have two children in college and I’m working my ass off to make sure the day I die, at least they have something left of me. But choosing to help these two men? You do realize how you can go to prison for this, yes?”

“…and I will take responsibility for working with them.” The older man interrupted, clearly feeling terrible about the situation, “I tried to stop them… Going through the fire route was just, absolutely too far. I am so sorry about your family’s shop… Please, forgive me. Believe me.”

Vladik seemed to have completely ignored the old man at this point, absolutely angered from the whole situation. However, there was something with Natalya that had her instincts kick in. Call it her fairy nature, but she had knelt down in front of the older man who seemed absolutely disappointed in himself. She reached for his hand; grasping onto it which startled the man when looking at the girl.

Just looking at her… She radiated such positive energy. It was as if he had been sitting across from… A goddess? No… That couldn’t be.

“Don’t worry,” Natalya responded and looked above him. There, she could see his aura just as with anyone else. While her father’s aura was clearly angered as he was in person, the aura of this older man… It was crying. He truly did feel guilty about the situation, “I don’t forgive a lot of people. But I can sense you really do mean it… and for that, I forgive you.”

This tone of voice that came from Natalya was absolutely shocking to Vladik. Seeing that she had gone from such a strict woman to this calming nature?… This wasn’t like her at all. He stared for a moment, watching as the old man had begun crying in front of the girl as if she had said something so powerful enough to make him apologize. That was when Vladik realized… This was part of who she was.

A fairy. Even if Natalya had a short-ill-temper, her instincts as a fairy had her wanting to look out for the safety of others. 

Watching the remainder of the fire being put out indeed was a relief for Vladik and Natalya. It was an eventful night, but it became even more eventful seeing that there had been news stations all across Moscow that had come to the scene of the fire to report it as breaking news. It had resulted in not only Vladik being interviewed, but Natalya being interviewed as well for their involvement in the shop since they were the owners.

To say the least, the following morning when the news was on, no one had expected to see Natalya on television. Not even Feliks, who had woken up to being shocked a the sight of not only the fire but Natalya standing there with her father being asked questions by news anchors.

“WHAT?!” Feliks had spat out his tea and cursed in Polish the second he had seen the sight of Natalya on the television. As he got up to turn on the volume, he listened closely to the news anchor that was explaining everything that had happened. Apparently someone had purposely lit the shop on fire, firefighters were able to stop it, and the news was able to get a chance to speak with the shop’s owner which was Natalya’s father. 

“ _And how do you think this will impact your family?” The news anchor had asked Natalya, holding out a microphone to her._

_“Uh…” Natalya stared at the cameraman and gave a small shrug, since she usually didn’t know what to say when she was on the spot, “It’s… really heartbreaking, since this shop was my mother’s before she passed away. But I’m sure that we’ll be able to repair it since I know we have a lot of regular customers that come by. Hopefully, it’ll be back to its normal self within the next month or so.”_

“I can’t believe that LOSER got on television!” Feliks had slammed the television remote directly onto the ground, clearly angered to see the girl on the screen, “And interrupt my regularly scheduled program!? This is absolutely ridiculous!”

While there may have not been some happy viewers to see Natalya on the television with her father, her siblings were a whole other story. Having to break the news about what happened to the shop at breakfast wasn’t the scenario that Anya and Dmitri were wanting to hear, but there was indeed a bit of good news that came along with it.

“So, since we now have enough proof that it was the two businessmen who caused this,” Vladik began as he had been in the middle of drinking his morning coffee, “We’ll press charges, and they’ll have to pay for the damages. In addition, since we have insurance too, we’ll be getting even more money, so maybe we’ll be able to upgrade the shop. Add some room to the kitchen, more dining room space - who knows.” 

“I mean…” Dmitri had been holding onto his own cup of coffee, listening to the story. He was indeed upset to hear about the whole situation that had taken place, so naturally, he was more concerned for the safety of the shop, “So long as we can install a good security system, I’m fine with expanding. I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

“Agreed,” Anya nodded while she finished putting butter on her muffin. Once she did, she tore the muffin apart to take a bite out of it, “That’s amazing that you got to be on television though. I guess I get to brag that my little sister is famous, hm?” As Anya spoke out to Natalya, there was no response given by her at all. Instead, Natalya had been looking down and picking at her food. 

Since returning from the shop and waking up again later that morning, something didn’t feel right again. Natalya knew that the shop was going to be fine after the insurance and the businessmen paid for their actions… But there was something else bothering her. And it all tied back to when she was in that fire. 

Those flames… It was large, but the fact that she felt like she recognized the space really concerned her. Then there was the crying from that baby. The baby crying, her father picking up the baby, then a voice calling out to her father asking him if he could take care of the baby and protect it. 

It was such a weird flashback sequence, she didn’t even know how to react or respond to it.

“…Natalya?” A small poke was given at Natalya’s side, resulting in startling the girl. Anya chuckled at the sight of this and rose a brow, “Hello? You there? If not, I’m going to eat your muffin.”

There was a small shrug that was given by Natalya when she heard the statement, “…then go ahead… I’m not really hungry.”

Anya was surprised to hear the sudden change of tone that came from Natalya. She didn’t want to eat breakfast? She rose a brow and tilted her head in confusion before lowering her own muffin, “Alright, something’s wrong. Cough it up before I force it out.”

Bingo. Anya nailed it right on the spot. 

When saying that there was something wrong, even Dmitri and Vladik had stopped eating their breakfasts to look over at Natalya in confusion. Was she still upset about the shop? “Yes, big sestra… there is something wrong,” Natalya spoke up after a moment and looked over at her father; a frown present on her face.

“Well, Natalya…” Vladik was confused and lowered his cup of coffee to listen to her, “What is it, honey?” 

How was she going to explain this? Already her family knew that she had visions… After all, a vision through a dream was what was able to warn her about the shop being on fire. But it was a vision too that had allowed her to see that dream sequence of her father at a younger age with a crying baby. And so, Natalya began with a sigh, “During the fire, I had this… sort of vision. I saw papa… saving a newborn baby from a fire. I would guess this baby being maybe, days old?"

Anya and Dmitri had looked over at their father in confusion. Since when did he ever rescue a newborn baby? “That’s funny,” Anya couldn’t help but to chuckle as she went back to eating her muffin, “Since when did you rescue a newborn baby?”

Silence came from Vladik. If anything, hearing that question from Anya was completely ignored. He was more focused on the fact of what Natalya had said as the knife he had been using to put butter on his own muffin…. Immediately dropped to the ground. 

The knife dropping had Natalya turn to face her father in confusion now. Did she say something? From what she could see, he looked horrified. Absolutely shocked as he stared at her, unable to comprehend what she had said. And there was indeed a reason for it. For Vladik, hearing those words come directly from Natalya’s mouth was the last thing he had ever expected. Let alone, to bring up something that he never thought she would see with her own two eyes. Already he figured out that she had visions, but it seemed that her visions officially decided to tell her a truth…

…A truth that he had been hiding from his entire family for years.

“What?” Natalya spoke out and crossed her arms. The lingering silence was beginning to annoy her, including her siblings who didn’t know why Vladik seemed so shocked, “What is it, papa?”

There was a sigh that came from Vladik when heard this. No, he wasn’t ready to tell her… Not yet. Let alone, Anya and Dmitri had no idea that this was a case at all. It was something that he and his wife had sworn to keep a secret until they were all ready to know. But it was too late… Her powers had beat him and made her see the truth, “Natalya… I need you to sit down for me, please.” 

Hearing this instruction caught Natalya off guard. She nodded, sitting back down in her seat while her two older siblings were watching Vladik intensely on what he was going to say.

“…I wanted to wait until you turned eighteen, Natalya… But.” Vladik began his explanation. It was at this point that breakfast was completely ignored as he tried to figure out how to explain this to her… It was something he didn’t even know how his entire family would react. Let alone, especially since it mainly involved Natalya, “I guess your powers wanted you to know sooner.”

“Know what?” Anya crossed her own arms, “What’s going on, papa?” 

“The truth,” Vladik explained to his other daughter before looking down with his eyes closed; trying to collect his thoughts on how he was going to properly explain it to her. Alas, he sat up and ran a hand through his hair as he allowed for the confession to spill out, “That baby you saw in your vision, Natalya…” He paused for a moment, “…That baby was you. Seventeen years ago, in the first home, your mother and I bought… We had an accident in a fire. It was from some sort of meteor… And after we had all evacuated, I heard a baby crying in the house. I thought it was impossible, but there was this voice begging me to go inside and check. So I went inside, and I found you… and I rescued you.” 

“…A fire?” Natalya’s eyes widened when she heard this. Even her siblings were shocked to hear this story because they were never told of it. Regardless, she leaned forward, pressuring for more details, “How did I get caught in a fire?” 

“I have no idea, Natalya,” Vladik explained as his hands were formed into fists. He didn’t know how to continue on with telling the story. He wasn’t prepared at all to see her reaction, let alone, for the truth to come out during such a good breakfast, “It was a miracle though… You were swaddled in a beautiful blanket with jewels, you had this necklace with your birthday and the words ‘Nata’ on it… So automatically, I assumed your name was Natalya as a nickname to your true name. That fire… It wasn’t hurting you. Instead, it was almost as if it was bowing down to you. It respected you because you had such a powerful aura. I still have no idea how you got there by yourself. You were only a newborn baby, all alone… Your mother and I brought you to the police, and we could find no records of anyone that belonged to you… but you were so special, and your mother already fell in love with you…

_...so we adopted you_.” 

Shock immediately filled the table the second this was said aloud. For Natalya, her jaw had been dropped wide open, as well as her eyes were widened to the point where she couldn’t believe it. If anything happened at that very moment, it was as if a piece of her had just died. Her mind was removed from her skull, thrown into an alley and beaten for good… With this truth that she would have never imagined hearing. 

Never once in her entire life, the family that she had known for her entire life…

…Was not even her _real_ family?

“WHAT!?” Anya had slammed her hands straight onto the table and glared right at her father, absolutely horrified to hear such a thing, “You have to be joking! This isn’t funny, papa! You say that you adopted Natalya, that’s ridiculous!”

“I agree,” Dmitri spoken up in defense of Anya, feeling tears beginning to well up in his eyes out of heartbreak, “This is something you don’t just joke about! What were I and Anya doing the entire time THAT was happening?”

“…I’m not joking.” Vladik had brought his hands up to his face as he took in a breath, trying to calm himself, “…You and Anya were so little back then, your mother and I didn’t think you two were ready yet to know the truth about Natalya… Since your mother passed away, I swore that I would take care of all three of you… Especially you, Natalya,” He looked up at the girl, “That day in the fire, a voice who said you were her baby needed protection. This woman was begging over and over again, and I promised this voice that I would… since then, I never heard of anything again.” 

Natalya… Was absolutely speechless. Speechless to the point that where she sat down in her seat, she could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Damn it… She hated crying. She really, really hated crying… But how could she just get over the fact that all her life, she had believed that everyone here was her true family? When in reality, it was a whole different story, “…Y-You adopted me…” She began and looked up at the older male, “Why? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I was going to, Natya.” Vladik swallowed and stood up, approaching the girl immediately and placing his hands on her shoulders. He could just tell how heartbroken she was, but what else could he do? “When you turned eighteen, I was going to tell you… And I still planned on it, until everything had happened. You getting powers, Florentyna showing up out of nowhere and bringing you to Lenfia, then your powers showing you these visions? I wanted you to figure out who you were…. But,” He grasped onto her shoulders. Tears were already streaming down Natalya’s cheeks as she shook, trying to hold herself back from crying, “I may not be your father by blood, but I am still your father and I vowed to take care of you. I don’t know who your parents are, but I promised them that I would make sure you were safe. You are part of this family, and nothing changes from this at all. I love you, your siblings love you, and your mother before she passed away loved you.”

A tight embrace was given from Vladik to Natalya. If there was one thing that indeed made the waterworks worse, it was that hug. Natalya pressed her face into her father’s shoulder, indeed continuing to sniffle while the tears were still running. She didn’t know how to feel at all… It was as if a life that she had for so long turned out to be fake. It absolutely brought distraught to her that she didn’t even know what to do.

Every memory she had growing up flashed in her mind. From the first time, she had learned how to walk, to their family trips… The day her mother had passed away, her days of schooling, the funny things she did as a little girl such as dressing up, all her birthdays, all her Christmases, the years she had gotten into ballet, then into figure skating… During all those momentous occasions in her life, her family here was by her side.

It may have not been a blood family, but Vladik was right. They were still family regardless of the situation.

“I love you too, Papa…” Natalya looked up at the older man, indeed trying to calm herself down before taking in a few breaths, “Thank you for telling me the truth.” She looked up, meeting the glances of her siblings who were also teared up from the truth. She held her hands out to them, which immediately Dmitri and Anya had rushed over to join in their father’s hug.

_“…To me, you’ll always be my family.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, you've made it to one of the chapters I was VERY excited to write about. Consider this chapter as the start of something big coming. If you think Natalya learning the truth about being adopted was huge, just wait until the later chapters. 
> 
> It gets even more intense.
> 
> I'm still really excited about writing the next few chapters... Perhaps I'll be able to get the next chapter up this weekend? Let's plan on it!
> 
> Chapter 9 will be released on 5/17/2020. Until then, see you soon!


	10. A Secret Within a Royal Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every memory she had growing up flashed in her mind. From the first time, she had learned how to walk, to their family trips… The day her mother had passed away, her days of schooling, the funny things she did as a little girl such as dressing up, all her birthdays, all her Christmases, the years she had gotten into ballet, then into figure skating… During all those momentous occasions in her life, her family here was by her side.
> 
> It may have not been a blood family, but Vladik was right. They were still family regardless of the situation.
> 
> “I love you too, Papa…” Natalya looked up at the older man, indeed trying to calm herself down before taking in a few breaths, “Thank you for telling me the truth.” She looked up, meeting the glances of her siblings who were also teared up from the truth. She held her hands out to them, which immediately Dmitri and Anya had rushed over to join in their father’s hug.
> 
> “…To me, you’ll always be my family.”

The winter break for all students of the magic dimension had come to an end just after the New Year. It was a time full of excitement to welcome the new semester of new classes and more training for all magical beings. Magical beings, including fairies throughout the dimension, were now all traveling back to their dorms to prepare for the activities of classes to take place once again.

For Natalya, returning to Magix after such an intense winter break, was one thing she was truly looking forward to. As much as she loved spending time with her family, the news of learning the truth about herself… It was one thing that hadn’t left her mind. Even after teleporting herself and saying goodbye to her father and siblings before returning to school, her mind was still absolutely going through a lot of questions.

Most of her questions involved where she was from, who she was, and why was she in that fire. Her father had offered to provide her as much detail as he could, but it wasn’t a lot. After that conversation at breakfast that one morning when she learned the truth, he allowed her to see the adoption papers. It gave her a chance to see pictures of her as a newborn, the signatures of him and her mother adopting her, and then choosing to give her the full name of ‘Natalya Aleksandrina Arlvoskaya’. It was her name that she grew up with…

…But as for her birth family and true name, her father had no clue. 

The documentation couldn’t even answer the question either. There was no record of her family on Earth, which the police had decided it was reckless abandonment of an infant. But when Vladik had told her the truth about truly being happy to have her as his daughter, she knew he wasn’t lying. His aura would say otherwise, and it was true… Her parents did love her and adopted her for a reason.

After all, she was considered a ‘miracle baby’ to them.

Arriving at Lenfia’s campus after transporting herself back was indeed a nice feeling to be greeted to. Already there were plenty of students arriving with their belongings from their respectable planets. She, of course, kept her distance as she walked towards the first year suites to get herself up to her room. She didn’t know if her friends had arrived yet… But if there was one thing she really wanted, it was to see them.

Natalya took out the key to her room and unlocked it quickly before stepping inside. It seemed to be quiet when she first walked in, but all she had to do was turn a corner to see… Clothes flying out of Florentyna’s room? 

“ _No no no! I can’t believe I left my favorite blouse back home!”_

There it was. The familiar voice of Florentyna panicking about her clothes as per usual. Natalya rolled her eyes in response and approached her bedroom door; knocking on it quickly to acknowledge her presence. And soon, she spoke, “Did you make sure to bring your faux fur panties too?”

“Well duh, I can’t ever forget that-“ Florentyna had responded to the voice, acting as if it were completely normal. Until she realized who it was. Turning around, the blonde had been greeted to the sight of Natalya standing there with her suitcase, who seemed to have been holding back her laughter. Florentyna gasped, dropping the clothes she had in hand to run over and tackle the other in a tight hug, “Natalya! You’re back! Oh my GOSH, you have no idea how much I missed you! Texting and video chatting is one thing, but it is so much better seeing you in person.”

“…Aww.” There was a small chuckle that came from Natalya. Seeing Florentyna was indeed good to see again as the hug was exchanged. Soon, they had pulled back from each other, “It’s good to see you too. Are you the only one here?”

“Nope!” Florentyna responded and turned back to her suitcases, where clothes were thrown everywhere since it was clear that she was unpacking, “Tatyana and Mei just got here an hour ago, and Monika went to go order pizza for us. She’s also grabbing all of us tickets for this huge show that’s going to be taking place this weekend at UHB!”

A… Huge show? This confused Natalya as she tilted her head. If there was a show going on at UHB, wouldn’t Alfred tell her? “What do you mean, ‘show’?” 

“…Ohhhh, right. You’re an Earthling.” Florentyna laughed quickly and turned to face the other, now taking out her phone to pull out her messages, “I’m surprised Alfred didn’t tell you. Basically, after the first week of the Spring semester, all of the heroes at UHB put together this amazing show to show off what they learned during the fall semester. Some royals go to this event too. I think this year the King and Queen of Eraqion are going because it’s the 300th anniversary of the school? So it’s a pretty big deal.”

Eraqion… Wait, that was the planet that Alfred was from, “Yeah, I know that planet,” Natalya responded while resting her rear on top of her suitcase, “Alfred, Gilbert, and Monika are from there, right?”

“Yup!” As she said this, Florentyna had handed over her phone for Natalya to see the message details of the event. And she was correct. It was a huge event where all male students would be performing with dragons, bikes, and even fighting monsters, “The thing is that it’s so hard to get tickets for this thing. Apparently Lenfia is giving some tickets to students here which are first come first serve, so Monika went off to see if she can snag us some. She is technically a resident of Eraqion, so I’m pretty sure they should be able to give her five.” 

It sounded like an exciting event. That was what Natalya thought she needed… An exciting event to go with friends, see her boyfriend perform… Which she definitely planned on calling him and asking him about, “Well, thanks for letting me know. I’ll ask Alfred about it later tonight to see what he’s performing.” 

“ _Is that Natalya?”_

The new voice managed to ring the two girl’s ears from Florentyna’s room. Upon turning around, Tatyana had been present with a large plant in her hand as she gasped recognizing the two faces. The plant was quickly placed down as she rushed over, exchanging a brief hug with Natalya, “Oh goodness! It’s so good to see you again! Did you have a good break?” 

“Hey Tatyana,” Just as before, the hug was exchanged between the two girls before Natalya paused at the mentioning of having a good break… She didn’t know how to answer it, so she sighed and shrugged, “I’ll tell you what happened later. How about you, did you have a good break?”

Hearing the mentioning of being told about her break was indeed something that piqued curiosity at Tatyana. Something told her, deep inside her heart… That there was something wrong. Making eye contact with Natalya showed that there was a sense of sadness, but she wouldn’t push it. Instead, she smiled and gave a nod, “Mhm. I mostly spent it with my parents and siblings. My sisters are younger and still learning about their powers, so I taught them a little bit of healing magic just for the heck of it.”

“ _That sounds exactly what I did with my siblings too._ ” 

The three girls who were in the middle of their conversation looked up behind Tatyana, where Mei had been standing there with a large smirk on her face. Mei had tossed her arm around Tatyana and looked over at Natalya and Florentyna, “Good to see you guys again. But seriously, having seven siblings and being the middle child is like, insane.”

“…You have _seven_ siblings?” Natalya choked upon hearing this.

“Oh yeah,” Mei nodded and lowered her arm now before pulling out her phone. As she did this, she had pulled out a picture of her family, this being mainly of her father, mother, and siblings, “My mom passed away a few years ago, so it’s just been my dad handling us all… Six boys and one girl.” 

“Holy fucking shit,” Florentyna couldn’t help but to curse and look at the picture in amazement, “All those brothers? Man, if you ever got a boyfriend, I’m sure they’d all kick his ass if they tried to mess with you.”

“You can say that again,” Laughter came from Mei as the phone was put away since it was true, “It was a nice time though. Even though most of the time my brother Yong Soo wouldn’t leave me alone… He’s a prankster, so he always teases me and my other brothers any chance he gets.”

“Sounds like my older sister…” Natalya couldn’t help but let out a sigh when she said this. 

Yeah… Her older sister wasn’t even blood related to her.

The group of girls had eventually diverted the conversation over to the living room of the suite. They would worry about unpacking for later. Instead, it was when Monika had arrived with some pizza, they could get their conversation rolling.

“You have no idea how lucky we are,” Monika began when seeing everyone sitting at the couches. On her side, she had been holding onto a bag where she had reached into it and pulled out five tickets, slamming it right onto the coffee table, “I got the last five tickets. The line was absolutely insane too. It’s not that good seats, but we’ll be able to see the show take place.”

“That’s great!” Florentyna couldn’t help but smile up at the other’s direction, “Thanks so much for going out and getting them. We really appreciate it.”

“Yeah, of course.” There was a small smirk on Monika’s lips as she said this. The pizza box was placed down onto the coffee table, that way they could all eat while they talked to each other and caught up from things, “Honestly? I’d do anything to see Gilbert get his ass beat by a few monsters. Even Alfred too.”

“Right on,” Natalya couldn’t help but chuckle. Even though she loved her boyfriend very much, she loved to see Alfred fight… It was a bit arousing to her since she knew he could handle it. But after those stunts of teasing her all winter break with not only making her cringe but sending very lewd photos to her while she did the same back?… 

…Oh, she wanted him to get payback for teasing her when they were separated. 

However, while they spoke with one another, Tatyana looked over at Natalya and leaned over a bit, “You didn’t answer my question earlier about how your break was, Natalya. So come on, everyone else shared what they did.”

This was true. The entire time they were talking, Natalya was the only one who was quiet. Monika had shared her story of how she and her family mostly did work during the break, while Florentyna had to go back and forth between different parts of Solis due to her parents being divorced. With having divorced parents, it was a whole different situation when it came to holidays. 

Natalya looked down at her lap and was quiet while everyone had waited to hear what she had to say about her break, “…I don’t know where to begin,” She placed her plate of pizza down and looked up, “Do you ever feel… Like you don’t know where you belong?”

This was indeed a question that came out of nowhere. Florentyna had spoken out with a small shrug, “I mean, my parents are divorced, so I’m in different parts of Solis all the time. I have no idea where I belong at all… My dad’s a King, my mom’s the Queen, but they have such different ground rules, it’s insane… I guess?”

“No… Not like that,” Natalya explained to the other with a frown brought to her lips, “It’s just… Something big happened during this winter break, and now I feel all… Lost. Sorry to sound all… Depressing.”

“Natalya, dear,” Tatyana reached over and grasped onto the other’s hand. She could tell immediately that there was something wrong with her and needed them all by her side. And so, she had given her hand a squeeze and moved closer, “…Don’t apologize. You can tell us what’s bothering you anytime.”

“Agreed,” Mei responded and had finished her slice of pizza before sitting up from her seat. As she did so, she reached for a napkin to wipe her lips and fingers, “You’re our friend, and friends listen to each other when we’re in need of something. So come on, let’s hear it.”

If there was one thing Natalya was grateful for, it was having a support system such as her friends. She reached over for one of the pillows on the couch to hug onto; now resting her chin on the edge of it with her frown still plastered on her face, “…Okay.” She sighed, trying to figure out how she should begin the story, “When I got home to Moscow, everything was great. I got to work in my family’s shop, my father took us to Italy for Christmas… All was going great until these two businessmen tried scamming my family into selling our shop. My sister put her foot down and said no, but then these businessmen started attacking our shop… Throwing bricks at our door, trashing it… And even putting it on fire.”

Everyone had gasped at the mentioning of two men purposely setting her family’s shop on fire. Monika had leaned forward in interest, “Please tell me the authorities at least caught the culprits.”

“Oh they did, don’t worry,” Natalya reassured the other and lowered the pillow, “And my father pressed charges. He’ll be getting money from not only them, but our shop’s insurance to fix it up… But, something happened during that fire…” As she said this, she paused for a moment. Just thinking about it was bring an ache to her heart, but she knew if she didn’t say it out loud, she wouldn’t be able to get over it, “…I had a vision. This vision of a newborn baby being rescued by my father… So the next morning, I asked him at breakfast if he knew anything about it. And I had never seen my father so shocked before to tell me something… Which was the truth.” The more and more she went on, gosh, it made her want to cry again, But she held herself back for now. Her friends didn’t need to see her ever crying, no way, “Apparently, the baby was me… And… I’m not his actual daughter… I… I was adopted when I was a newborn.”

Shock filled everyone’s expressions when they had all heard this. Even Florentyna had gasped loudly and brought a hand up to her face, unsure of how to react, “Wait, what? You were adopted?” 

“…Yeah.” Natalya let out a sigh and slouched slightly in her seat, “I didn’t believe it at first, but he told me the truth. That the vision I had was true. He showed me all the adoption papers, and told me that there was this voice of a woman begging for him and my mother to take care of me… And they did it. My siblings didn’t even know either, so they learned the truth at that same moment too.” 

“Oh, Natalya…” Tatyana had reached over and pulled the other into a tight embrace. From just looking at the girl, she didn’t look happy at all. If anything, she seemed more distraught and couldn’t get over the fact of what she had learned at home. Natalya needed their comfort, and Tatyana was happy to provide, “I know you’re upset, but I wouldn’t beat yourself up over it. That’s a beautiful story,” She explained, which resulted in Natalya to look at her a bit surprised, “I think you and your family have an amazing, terrific relationship. Adopting a baby is a great act of love.”

“You said it right, Tatyana,” Monika nodded in agreement and placed a hand on Natalya’s thigh, giving it a small part of reassurance, “It’s an amazing thing that your parents adopted you and raised you as their own. It shows that they really love you, including your siblings.”

“I know… and I’m thankful for it. I really am,” Natalya sat up and fixed her posture, now reaching for her pizza again so she could at least finish eating it before it got cold, “And I love my family, I do… But after going so many years thinking that they were my actual family, then learning that they weren’t? Now, I don’t know what to do,” She explained, “I just… I want some damn answers now. Why I have these powers, who are my real parents, my real family.”

“You sure you want to find out the whole truth?” Florentyna asked the other out of curiosity. She had been in the process of eating her second slice of pizza before clearing her throat to finish the statement she was making, “Your search can be long and difficult, babe.”

But the thing was that Natalya had already made up her mind. Since she had left Earth, she was planning on using the resources that she had here in the magic dimension to figure out who she was. She needed answers since she couldn’t go on not knowing who she was, “I’m sure about it,” Natalya answered the other with confidence in her tone of voice, “I want to figure out everything about my past. What happened to my family to the point where it led me to be adopted? The only clues I have so far is that I can control fire and ice through my powers, that’s it.”

“Well, I can promise you one thing,” Florentyna stood up and approached the other with a large smile on her face, “You can count me in on helping you out. You’ve helped me out with everything so far with me, so the least I can do is help you find your birth family.” 

“Me too,” Tatyana gave the other a thumbs up, “We’re here for you, Natalya. We’ll help you figure out the answers.”

“It could be a long and dangerous journey…” Monika couldn’t help but say with a bit of thought to her tone of voice, but alas, she agreed as well, “But that won’t stop me from saying no either.”

“I may have lost my mom...” Mei spoke out, looking up at Natalya with a reassuring smile of her own, “The least I can do is help my friend find her mom and dad again. Maybe your entire family. Who knows.”

Having all of this support truly did mean a lot to Natalya… For her, she couldn’t help but take in a breath before rubbing her eyes. Great, there were waterworks again. She wouldn’t full-blown cry as she did on Earth, but instead, she rubbed the tears away and looked at her friends with relief on her expression, “Thank you, guys… Really, you have no idea how much that means to me.” 

“Well, of course!” Florentyna stood up now to stretch, “Come on, let’s be excited. We’ve got a brand new semester starting, a ton of fun events to go to, and plus, tickets to a huge showcase at the University of Heroics and Bravery all thanks to Monika snagging us some tickets. It’s going to be a kick-ass start to the new semester.”

At least there was still the positivity that existed with Florentyna. Even though Natalya’s adoption story was very unexpected, she was glad to know that she wasn’t the only one with a family situation such as hers… Florentyna’s parents being divorced, Mei coming from a large family with a single father… Tatyana and Monika seemed to be alright, but they were both understanding too about how big of an impact it was finding out to be adopted.

Regardless of the fact, the remainder of that day was spent relaxing after journeying all the way back to Lenfia from their own respected planets. Despite Natalya trying to distract herself at the thought of her family, she mainly focused on herself on being able to see Alfred again after so long. 

Throughout the break, the couple talked every day. She didn’t know what Alfred was up to, other than from the photos he had sent her. From her assumption with seeing the photos, she had figured he was off doing work for his family. After all, he seemed to be the type of person to work a lot, so it made sense that when he returned to his planet, that was what he would be doing. 

The thing was with the huge event coming up at UHB, the second he had returned to campus, he had completely forgotten about it. It was why it hadn’t been brought up in his mind and mentioned to Natalya. Seeing that he was signed up to do a choreographed motorcycle skit with his team, the second he returned to campus, he had to get straight to training when other students were just returning.

The University of Heroics and Bravery was a school for young men who one day would join the magical dimension’s forces of defending its planets. These men were accepted into the school based on not only their academics but performances when it came to an entrance exam for battling. These men ranged from ages sixteen to twenty with the expectation of by the time they graduated, they would be prepared for any battle.

There were many men that attended the school. Some men had been accepted thereby scholarship while others had been royals of their own planets. While the magical dimension had no ruler due to the tragedy that had taken place years ago, each planet with their own royal family had a son and had the expectation to send their sons to the school. Thus, giving the son the ability to fight if he were to one day rule. 

It was a time of celebration on this particular day at the school for young men. The University of Heroics and Bravery for men had been celebrating its 300th year of being an institution. This would be a day where all students who have either trained there for months or years would be able to showcase their performance to members of the magical dimension. 

The entirety of Magix had been discussing the expectations they had for their future soldiers of the magical dimension. Would they perhaps one day assist with protecting the entire magical dimension? Or maybe serve on their own planets as heroes?

All the men had been formed into groups of four for the showcase. First years, second years, and third years would be performing in their groups in order with the seniors being last. Once the showcase came to an end, it would become a celebration for the soon-to-be graduating third years of the school since it would be their last Spring semester showcase for the school year.

Part of the second years though indeed had been Alfred who couldn’t believe he was feeling this nervous about such an important event such as this one. Even while he was in the middle of practicing with his team in the arena of the school, he kept taking more hits than he normally would. 

This wouldn’t look good at all on his track record. Especially since the headmaster of the school had been watching the men practice and he was always one of the best students to perform well… But since had gotten the news of who else would be joining the event, his anxiety was on the roof.

Mainly at the fact that he hadn’t told Natalya the truth about him either.

For them currently, the first years had been dealing with sparring. The third-year had been dealing with taming the dragons of the school, while the second years were on their bikes to show off the skills that they learned. One of the skills during the competition that they had to do was participate in a race.

And the young man, who was known to get at least first or second place during any practice race, was surprisingly ending up in last.

It was after this said race that he couldn’t help but to groan loudly and take off his helmet. His mind had been full of distractions and in all truths, anxiety about this event. Not only would his family be attending, aka, the King and Queen of Eraqion, but there was one woman he did _not_ want to see who would be attending as well. 

With where his heart was at that very moment, he was way too in love with someone else to even care that the individual he didn’t want to see would be attending. 

“Alfred!” A familiar voice met the young man’s ears as he looked up from his bike. 

His entire group had been staring at him as if he had done something wrong. Technically yes, he did, but it wasn’t his fault. He was too distracted and his entire team knew this. Heck, he had been expressing practically all night that he was put into a situation that he didn’t know how to escape.

Then again, the situation that he put himself in was one that he caused himself by lying to the one he loved in the first place. There was one thing he already decided on, and that was the fact that he wanted her here at this event. He knew Natalya wouldn’t say no to the offer… Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if Florentyna had already told her that there was a huge event going on that upcoming weekend at UHB. Plus, Natalya was his biggest supporter… The one he loved would cheer him on easily.

“You okay man?” Gilbert had approached the other and placed a hand on his shoulder. Alfred was in a state where he couldn’t even blink, thus resulting in him to pat his cheeks a few times, “Earth to Alfred! Prince Alfredooo, hello?? You alive, bro?” 

“He’s too stressed again,” Mathias had spoken out; another member of Alfred’s group as he slipped his helmet in between his arms. “Someone should take a picture of this. You’re lucky you haven’t gotten in trouble yet for not staying in focus.” 

Mathias was absolutely right. Alfred was stressed out of his mind that he didn’t even want the next day to come. Sure, he was looking very forward to seeing his parents and Natalya. They would all support him, that’s for sure.

…But then there was her. The girl - the one individual who would be coming along with his parents. The one that he had chose to ignore until he returned to Eraqion for winter break. His family had no idea that he was in a relationship, which only made matters worse for him.

“Shut up,” Alfred began and got off his bike now. If his teammates were going to only tease him about this, especially with your highness bit, he didn’t want to deal with them, “I’m going to the lockers to take a shower.”

“Don’t keep yourself too distract though,” A man with brown hair and tanner skin had spoken out to the other and placed a hand on his shoulder, “All of the VIPs of Magix will be attending this event. Your parents too, you know. Gotta keep up that prince image for everyone.” 

“Don’t remind me, Antonio,” Alfred grumbled. 

Antonio let out a nervous chuckle and held his hands away from his teammate, “I don’t mean to, but you’re representing your kingdom. I don’t want you to be lashed out since your dad honestly scares me.”

“Dude,” Gilbert couldn’t help but laugh when hearing this, “King Arthur is like, the one guy you don’t want to piss off. He nags at Alfred and Matthew for everything they do. I swear,” He reached over and patted Alfred’s back in comfort, “We’ll pour you a drink inside the dorm in a bit.”

“Maybe that’ll help with the nerves,” Mathias agreed.

Drinks weren’t going to help him with this stress at all. If anything, the most it’ll probably do is make him a sad tipsy teenager and call Natalya crying about his stress. The worst part about it?"

She wouldn’t even understand anything because he’s been lying to her for months!

For Natalya, the fact that Alfred had been lying to her for this long was something that she never knew of. She trusted him just as he trusted her, so there was nothing she was worried about. If anything, she was more surprised that he didn’t tell her about this big showcase that everyone at Lenfia was talking about when everyone returned to campus from break. 

Speaking of, by the time Alfred had gotten off his bike to take a break, the coincidence of his phone going off made his heart drop. Especially when he had seen the collar ID of who it was? He panicked, taking his break in a more private area of the campus so he could speak. He took in a breath, pressing the answer button before bringing the mobile device up to his ear, “Hey babe—“

“ _—So you’re performing in a showcase this weekend, huh?”_

The first words that just had to come out of Natalya’s mouth had been her calling him out for not telling her. What sounded like a nervous chuckle came from the male. Meanwhile, all the way back at Lenfia, she had been sitting on her bed with some of her notebooks out to prepare for her classes to start tomorrow. Alfred had seated himself down on a bench and let out a sigh, “Honestly, Nat? I completely forgot about it. Forgot about signing up for it until my team reminded me.” 

“That… Sounds like a bad thing to forget,” Natalya commented with her brows risen in a bit of amusement. Alfred forgetting things? That didn’t sound like him at all, “Probably not fun coming back to school and right away going into training,”

“Oh hun, you have no idea,” There was a small sigh that came from Alfred. He didn’t care about the whole event that was to take place. Training for it was the easy part. The hard part was the fact that his entire family was going to be there. If he were to tell Natalya the truth, what if she got scared of him? She wasn’t a royal, she was a girl from Earth… Plus, telling her the truth was something that should be done in person… And maybe he could that weekend, “But it’s okay. You should come. I would love to see you in the audience.”

That was another coincidence when hearing the invitation. Natalya chuckled and turned her head over to the nightstand of where her ticket was laid out from Monika, “Oh, I will,” She responded, which indeed caught Alfred by surprise, “Monika managed to snag tickets for everyone. So everyone will be there.” 

Everyone would be there? Did that imply not only her but her friends too? The thing was that the only two among her friends that knew he was a Prince were Florentyna and Monika… That was it. And he assumed they didn’t say anything because well, no one really talked about his royal life. Just the same with Florentyna - just because she was a Princess, no one talked about it, “Good. More support system for my team,” He smiled and leaned forward a bit in his seat, “How was traveling back to Magix? Did you get to Lenfia safely?” He then paused, “…how are you feeling, by the way?”

“Mhm.” As Natalya responded to this, she laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling at his question about how she was feeling. The thing was that after she had learned about being adopted… The first person she had called was him. She didn’t know who to talk to… she was heartbroken, lost, and felt like she didn’t know herself anymore when being told that her family wasn’t her birth family. While she still loved her family, she didn’t know who she was. So she called Alfred that same night, expressing her thoughts and emotions… And well, he was there for her. Listened to how she was feeling and gave her that comfort she needed from such a life-changing moment, “I’m in my room now… and I’m okay. I’m still… a bit sad, but what can I do?”

“And that’s completely valid, sweetheart.” There was a sigh that came from Alfred. It really blew his mind away from that she learned she was adopted. Getting that phone call too so late at night with that news was one of the biggest plot twists he never expected… Then again, when hearing that she was still upset about it, he wondered if he should hold off on telling her the truth about him, “You have every right to be upset. But remember what I told you, it’s going to be okay. And you know I’ll help you figure out those answers. I love you, and if wanting to find out the answers to everything, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure of it.” 

Sometimes she really didn’t think she deserved Alfred. Truly, he was the guy that she never thought she’d ever meet. So understanding, so charismatic, listening, and there to comfort her when needed. Her heart was beginning to beat for him just hearing to that soothing voice of his as well, “I love you, Alfred, thank you…” She lowered her voice and turned her head over to the clock. It was just about 7 PM… She could talk to him for a few more minutes—

“ _Hey, Natalya!_ ”

Oh great.

Looking over to the entrance of her room, she had been greeted to the sight of Florentyna’s hair being pulled back into a bun, and what looked like mud in her hair. Natalya’s eyes widened in horror, but the woman only spoke out, “Wanna join in for some spa-treatment? I just found this amazing new recipe for a hair treatment that makes your hair silky smooth!”

“…Is that Florentyna?” Alfred couldn’t help but chuckle from the other line. Ah yes, he recognized the high-pitched tone of voice immediately. 

“Yes, it’s her,” Natalya responded with a small eye roll. 

However, when noticing that Natalya was on the phone, Florentyna had casually approached the other and grabbed it to put it on speaker. Not even seconds after snatching the phone from Natalya, she gave her friend a smirk and spoke, “Hi Alfred~”

“Hi Florentyna,” Alfred smiled from the other line to himself. Goodness, anytime he was having a conversation with Natalya and other people in her suite were awake, this always seemed to happen, “Let me guess. You’re stealing my girlfriend from me?”

“Yup. And she has no choice,” Florentyna saying this had Natalya’s eyes widen since she hadn’t agreed to do anything with spa related things yet! “I just need her for the next few hours, then she’s yours. Spa-night with the girls.”

“Ah.” A spa-night? Well, he never got to experience one of those, but he imagined for girls, it would be fun. And so, Alfred had stood up from his seat and looked ahead. He knew he should get back to training before going to bed, so he’d let them go for now, “Sounds fun. You guys go on and have fun. I’ve got a bit of work here I need to do myself,”

“I haven’t even said anything once and people are already making decisions for me,” Natalya muttered in frustration as she laid on her bed; glaring right at her friend with her arms crossed.

Florentyna however, wasn’t phased by Natalya’s glaring at all. Instead, she smiled and looked at the phone, “Great! Good luck and talk to you later,” She began before soon clicking a button on the phone to hang up. Once that was taken care of, she had reached over to grab Natalya’s hand, forcing her up from the bed to drag her into the bathroom, “Now come on!”

The phone hanging up by Florentyna was pretty amusing to Alfred. Sometimes he always felt like he was going through some battle with her to get Natalya’s attention, but he didn’t mind it. He’s known Florentyna for years. After all, she was the reason he got to meet Natalya in the first place. He made a mental note in his head too that he would text Natalya later that night to say goodnight, but for now, he knew he had to get back to practicing…

…Even if his mind was screaming internally in anxiety. 

The fairies at Lenfia had indeed spent a small spa-night in their suite. It was a fun experience, especially for Natalya who wasn’t really in the happiest mindset at all. Having to call her family later that night after getting her ‘hair treatment’ wasn’t a good time, but she put on a happy persona to act like there was nothing the matter. 

Starting off a new semester feeling so lost? It wasn’t a good feeling for her at all. But at least she was able to end that day with getting a goodnight text from Alfred before falling asleep to be ready to start classes the next day.

The semester beginning all brand new was a huge refresher after the intense classes that first-year students had to go through during the first semester. Rather than strictly doing combat training courses, there would only be one combat-based course that they all had to take. And it was a fun class too, that would require students to go out into the wilderness and fight wild creatures from monsters to even demons. 

Then there were the standard classes that were all lecture-based. Memorizing spells, learning new recipes for potions, and elixirs - just as expected for any magic school. The thing was though while it was syllabus week so nothing major had been going on, in most of her classes, Natalya was lost. She paid attention and did her work, but she wasn’t as interactive as the other fairies were behaving. Let alone, her friends had been attempting to cheer her up throughout the week, but it was no use. 

Learning that she was adopted was a very life-changing thing. She was motivated to learn more about herself, but the thing was, things in her head were beginning to change. More and more, she started to ask herself questions about where her powers were from… And began to wonder too if Alyona, whenever she came in her dreams to speak with her, had something to do with it all.

Natalya’s behavior was indeed caught on by her Professors. She had done so well at the beginning of the fall semester, but now, her behavior had completely changed. She was quieter and only participated in her first lectures if she was chosen to speak. With this behavior being noticed, it wasn’t long until the headmistress had gotten a note from the faculty. 

The first week of classes had passed smoothly. Tomorrow, in particular, was Saturday, which meant it would be the whole event taking place at UHB. Everyone who did get tickets was excited to go… Even Natalya, who was mainly looking forward to seeing her boyfriend after a month of not seeing him in person. 

That afternoon too, Florentyna apparently had found another recipe to help with beauty. Today she and her friends would be trying out face-masks that would help with making their skin clean and smooth… So getting the chance to be distracted by others was what Natalya needed. At least, that was what she was planning for that afternoon until she had walked out of her last class to be greeted by Glynda standing in front of her with her arms crossed.

If there was one thing that had happened, it was as if all life had drained out of Natalya’s face seeing the familiar blonde hair, white blouse, black skirt and red glasses that belonged to the woman, “Ms. Arlovskaya,” Glynda’s voice was clear when she glared down at the shorter girl, “Headmistress Radella would like to see you.” 

Part of Natalya wanted to ask if she did anything wrong. No, she knew she didn’t do anything wrong. She didn’t skip class, she did all her homework - so what would be the problem? “Why?” Natalya had asked, since well, she genuinely didn’t know why she was being called up.She believed she had the right to know at least.

But instead of getting an answer, Glynda shook her head and lead the girl in the direction of the third floor of the academic hall. There were no words exchanged between the two parties. Glynda truthfully had no idea herself why the headmistress had requested for Natalya’s presence, but it was none of her business. So she didn’t answer the girl because she was in trouble… No, it was because she had no idea. 

The lingering silence of just wondering if she did something wrong did not help with Natalya’s mentality at all. Well, whatever it was, she knew she couldn’t assume the worse. She knew she didn’t do anything wrong unless someone told her she did. After Glynda had brought her up and signed her in, Natalya was then guided to the headmistress’ office where the doors were opened by the older woman. Glynda allowed Natalya to walk in before shutting the door, leaving the young fairy to be with the headmistress.

And the headmistress… From Natalya’s point of view, she didn’t seem angry or mad. Instead, she had been sitting at her desk with a smile brought to her lips. In front of her, there were two cups of tea - this being one for herself, and one for Natalya, “Hello, Natalya.” Radella spoke out in between the silence when seeing the girl standing there, almost as if she were horrified to be there, “Come, sit. You’re not in trouble.”

Relief immediately filled Natalya’s expression when she heard this. At least that wasn’t the case at all. With a nod, she walked over to the chair in front of the desk and made herself comfortable. Her textbooks were placed onto her lap, in addition to her bag being placed beside her leg. The entire time she sat there, Radella sat there herself - observing the girl before soon she spoke out, “…Okay.” She took in a breath, “What did you need from me, headmistress?”

“Well…. You see,” Radella began with the same smile on her face. In the back of her mind, there were a lot of thoughts she was having about Natalya. For the entire break, she had been working very closely with the Magix’s council to research about the royal family that had been gone long ago. Specifically, tracing it back to each child that was to be the heir of the dragon flame and heart of ice from Viktor and Alyona. But the thing was, there was no conclusion to be reached. No records were listed for either Yekaterina, Ivan, or Natasha to be found. But rather than tell Natalya the truth of what she’s been doing, she gently asked, “I wanted to ask how you were doing. Your… Professors noticed that you’ve been a bit more quieter lately in regards to participation. Is there something going on that you’d like to talk about?”

Silence immediately came from Natalya. Her Professors snitched on her? Well, she knew she wasn’t doing anything wrong, but she didn’t know that her Professors would easily pick up on the fact that no, she wasn’t happy at all. Natalya sighed and reached for the tea that was poured out for her in front of her and held it in her lap, “I’m alright, headmistress.” She started off by answering the question before taking a sip, “It’s just… Something big happened in my life when I returned from Earth, and I guess you can say I’m currently in the process of recovering right now.”

“Recovering?” Radella sat up in her seat now. She knew that she was a headmistress, but if there was one thing about her, it was that she was a fairy godmother before transitioning her entire life being dedicated to the training of fairies. And fairy godmothers listened to those who were in need of help, “…would you like to talk about it, dear? You know, I’m not saying this because I’m your headmistress. I’m not worried about your grades. I’m just worried about how your feeling, dear. Call it a former fairy godmother’s instinct, per se.” 

It was a fair enough point, and Natalya understood this completely. She nodded and placed the teacup back onto the table, trying to see how she could explain this to the headmistress. It was more of a personal matter, but if she wanted to get better from this, she had to start saying it out loud more and accepting the fact, “…I guess you can say… I don’t know where I belong anymore.” 

Radella’s eyebrows furrowed. She didn’t know where she belonged? “Go on,” She began, unsure of what the other was discussing. 

“Something big happened with my family on Earth,” Natalya firstly started off her explanation with thought to her tone of voice. This time, there wouldn’t be any tears. No, she had already lost all the tears she had from this whole situation, so she remained calm as she spoke, “You know how I’ve been having visions, yes? Well, my family’s shop… We own a bakery together in the dedication to my mother, and someone put it on fire. When I went to go inside the fire to use my magic and stop it, I had a vision of my father rescuing a baby. After all that had happened, I asked him if he knew about it… And the truth sort of spilled out.”

“The truth?” 

“…my family on Earth… isn’t my actual blood family,” She finished off her explanation, which the second Radella had heard this, her eyes had widened, “I… I was adopted when I was a newborn. My father said that he found me in a fire all alone, and there was this enchanting voice that begged him to pick me up and take care of me. And so, he and my mother did, adopted me, and raised me as their own… But now, knowing the truth from that,” She turned her head away, “I just don’t know who I am anymore. I grew up thinking for the longest time believing that was my family… But in reality, I have a completely different birth family.” 

The expression on Radella’s face was full-blown shocked. The thing was that learning about being adopted was indeed a very life-changing thing. She felt sympathy towards Natalya as she sighed and sat back up. The poor girl must’ve been going through a lot emotionally, which is understandable for her change of behavior…

…Yet, behind closed doors for Radella and the Magix council, where they were researching about Natalya and the former royal family… Hearing that she was confirmed adopted and not knowing who she was? It absolutely shocked her. It was as if _that_ was the evidence she and the members needed. But the issue was that she wasn’t 100% sure. It could be a coincidence that Natalya was adopted and she could be an Earth fairy, but it was hard to believe it with having all of her training reports as a fairy. Manipulating fire and ice… There was no one else in the entire dimension that could do it unless it was involved with dark magic.

She knew she had to mention this to the council right away. 

“Oh, Natalya…” Radella had reached out for the girl’s hands and gave it a bit of a comforting squeeze, which was a gesture that Natalya hadn’t been expecting at all. She smiled at her, not wanting for her to feel so down on herself, “You know, finding out something such as adoption is a beautiful thing. It’s an act of love that comes from a person with a good heart. And I’m sure your family on Earth all have good hearts for taking care of you. Even as a godmother, my heart is touched by that.” 

If there was one thing Natalya wasn’t expecting to hear from the headmistress, it was such reassuring words. It was almost as if she weren’t speaking to a faculty member… No, Radella was a fairy godmother, right? 

It made her feel like she was speaking to her own godmother. 

“Thank you, headmistress.” Natalya pulled her hands back now to reach for the tea. She took another sip, still remaining calm before wanting to further explain herself, “It’s just been a bit of an adjustment, but once I figure it out, I’m sure things will go back to normal. I’m sorry that I worried you and my Professors.” 

“And I thank you for telling me something so deep, Natalya. Truly,” Radella kept on her smile, though on the inside, her mind was panicked. Panicked at the fact that she had learned such a thing about Natalya… It was such a major coincidence about her learning that she was adopted, it just didn’t make sense. Especially with the timing of it all, “I’m sorry to have taken up your time. Please, take all the time you need to process this. It’s just the first week of the semester, so the course load shouldn’t be as difficult. You can go.” 

Being dismissed after a calming conversation was truly a nice feeling. It was almost as if it were a motivator to helping her feel better… But still, the conversation had led for Natalya to thinking of more questions in her head. More or less, trying to connect what’s been happening to her for the last few months. 

“Thank you, headmistress,” As Natalya said this, she stood up from her seat and gave the other a nod before walking towards the direction of the door.

The door was opened for her to walk out before soon closing behind her, leaving the headmistress alone as she sat there in thought. The only reason why she had called her up to her office was to simply check-up on her after the start of the semester… But now, she was letting her go after learning such vital information. 

Information that she didn’t ever expect to hear from Natalya, which led to the investigation to only further continue. 

She waited a moment and reached for her phone, in addition to a few documents. Since she had brought it up to the Magix’s council of there being a concern of the dragon flame and heart of ice potentially not have been destroyed, it was kept as a disclosed secret. Her concern mainly began with seeing the witches over at the Tower of the Dead eager to find it, then Natalya appearing from Earth with these powers that she didn’t know she had. Now, she found out that she was adopted and didn’t know who her family was? This was something she needed to figure out. 

If this was the case, it had to be figured out quickly. Let alone, she didn’t even know if the poor girl knew…. She seemed to be so heartbroken over the fact that she learned the truth, so Radella wouldn’t bring up the mentioning of this to the girl until she was ready to know. Instead, she dialed a number and brought the phone up to her. She had to get in contact with someone and let them know of her discovery…

…that there may be a chance Natalya could be the lost Princess of the magic dimension.

Escaping that office from the headmistress was indeed a huge relief to Natalya. Anytime she was speaking with the headmistress, she always knew she had to be careful about what she said. After all, the woman was a huge figure for not only Magix, but she was the leader of Lenfia. It was better that she stay on good terms and try to not worry about her. 

And so, Natalya put on a small smiling face and walked out of the office as if nothing had happened.

That was when she remembered what she and her friends had planned to do for that evening. The mini-spa-session with Florentyna’s new ideas before they would go to the event that was taking place tomorrow at UHB. Leaving Radella’s office and going to the first-year dorms to get to her suite, it was perfect timing, since it seemed that she was the first to arrive with Florentyna already beginning to prepare things. 

She wouldn’t tell the other about her meeting with Radella. All Natalya knew though was that she planned on going through this journey of self-discovery… Right now, she was just thinking in her mind of everything that had happened leading up to that event. She was found in a fire, adopted, then seventeen years later she finds out she’s a fairy, and a woman named Alyona keeps coming into her dreams discussing a journey she needs to take and has to remember who she was. 

The last thing that she wanted was for her only friends to be worried about her behavior. Let alone, be worried that she was called up to see the headmistress. Yes, Natalya had told them about what happened with discovering to be adopted, but nothing more.

“Perfect timing, Nat!” Florentyna had popped her head from the bathroom where she had already been wearing a facemask. This startled Natalya since this face-mask was a white one that had stuck to her face good, “Come on, let’s put your hair up and get started. The rest of the girls should be back from class later, and then we can relax, watch a movie, and let these face-masks take care of our skin.”

“You know Florentyna,” Natalya had closed the door behind her and walked over to her room to drop off her bag. As she did so, she removed her shoes and coat she had been wearing, as well as placed her textbooks down onto her desk, “I don’t get how you know all this beauty stuff. Back home, I never did face-masks before,”

A gasp came from Florentyna when she heard this, which confused Natalya. What was the big deal about that? “Don’t worry girlfriend,” She reassured the other and motioned the other to sit once she was finished putting her stuff down, “I’ll make sure you understand the importance of beauty products after this that’ll have Alfred on his knees when he sees you tomorrow.” 

The unamusement on Natalya’s expression was present when she sat down in that chair. Sure, definitely get Alfred on his knees. She found that hilarious… Not really, since if anything so far in their relationship, it seemed to be the other way around. Alas, she walked over to the chair where Florentyna had put on a headband on the girl so it would push back her bangs and keep her hair away, before soon beginning to apply the product.

The facemask was indeed a very weird feeling. It was something she had never done before, but Natalya trusted Florentyna on what she was doing. She didn’t move or interrupt her, even when Florentyna had begun talking about her day of classes about how she watched someone turn a frog into a dove in one of her classes… Nothing changed about Florentyna at all.

Yet, even as she listened to Florentyna, her thoughts still lingered about her conversation with Radella. And Natalya’s silence was noted by Florentyna as she stood in front of the girl and put the facemask on. Her eyes were narrowing in suspicion, which by the time she had finished, she stared right at the other with a frown, “Natalya. You look like you saw a ghost."

Those words had Natalya’s eyes widen. Well, if there was one thing she wasn’t expecting to hear from Florentyna, it was that. Was it that obvious that she wasn’t happy? Damn, maybe she needed to stop making it so obvious that she was thinking about something else. She couldn’t even imagine Florentyna putting two and two together… But, she supposed that the expression on her face was enough to give it away.

“Are you still thinking about the adoption thing?” The Florentyna had spoken out and walked over to the sink to rinse off the face-mask brush.

Bingo.

Natalya supposed that Florentyna sometimes wasn’t stupid after all. A heavy sigh was given in response to that statement, which confirmed the other fairy’s suspicion.

With a snap of her fingers, the chair that Natalya had been sitting in had immediately levitated and brought the girl to the bathroom. Natalya panicked at first, but the second she was placed down, she saw Florentyna taking out hair-tools and removed the headband she was wearing. Now, she began to braid back her bangs so while the facemask dried, it still wouldn’t get on Natalya’s face, “When it comes to your emotions babe,” Florentyna only continued, even if she wasn’t given an answer to her question, “I can easily tell.”

“I’m sorry,” Natalya sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. The green face mask that Florentyna put on her made it look even more obvious that she was depressed about the situation at hand, “I’m just… So frustrated. I don’t even know who I am anymore… Or what I am. It’s been bothering me all day, and I just came back from a meeting with the headmistress because now Professors are figuring out that I’m depressed as shit,” She glanced over at the other whose brow had been risen in interest, “I just want answers. I’m rescued in a fire as a baby, adopted, then years later find out I have powers, and now I can’t stop having dreams with this woman named Alyona.”

Florentyna went silent upon hearing this and thought for a moment.Dreams were can be very powerful tools of communication. Unfortunately, she didn’t have an answer to it. Not even an answer to how Natalya could have powers… But, the name Alyona? This got her to snort, “Maybe it’s because you watch a lot of television about Magix. I told you already Natty the day we were going Christmas shopping. You know, with Mei, before we got into that fight with Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula,” She continued braiding the other’s hair down, “Alyona was the name of this one guardian fairy from a long time ago. She was the most powerful fairy in the entire dimension… You know, ‘Alyona’ is a common name for baby girls. You probably heard it in a show.” 

“A common name?” Natalya rose her brow.

“Yeah,” Florentyna forced the other to turn her head back to the mirror while she finished braiding her hair, “Everyone loves it because of that one fairy. Plus, she was the Queen who ruled the entire magic dimension. A huge powerful figure, even bigger than my status as a Princess of Solis!” There was a smile on her face. Goodness, even though she was younger when the whole tragedy had happened, she remembered how everyone used to be so happy back then… “Her and the royal family were loved and respected so much. It’s like the tiers of society… You’ve got the lower class, middle class, higher class, nobles, royals, and then the royal council… Which was Queen Alyona and King Viktor. So, _of course_ , a ton of people named their children after her and the king.” She explained, “It’s a beautiful name, so since it’s heard all the time probably you heard it and it came to your head.”

That probably would make sense. But, then why was this Alyona speaking to her, then? All Natalya wanted was answers, but asking for answers from Florentyna wasn’t the best option for her right now. Seeing that her friend didn’t even know the answer about this, it was probably something that kept coming to her head from things that she’s heard in her own time in Magix. 

“I guess…” Natalya had muttered to herself while standing up after the other had finished her hair. Once she did, she walked over to her bed and sat down, looking out the window that was close to her nightstand. 

Distractions like these ‘beauty treatments’ weren’t helping at all. She knew that she had to try and put herself into a good mood for the exhibition at UHB, especially since she wanted to go and support Alfred in this one event that meant a lot to him. But it was still frustrating nonetheless.

It’s been a month since they last saw each other. Maybe she was going crazy not seeing him. If that was the case, she had respect for those who did long-distant relationships. Maybe it was why too that sometimes, being on the magic dimension, she missed being on Earth due to how simple life was.

“Listen,” Florentyna spoke out and had approached Natalya at this point. In her hand, she had been holding out the other’s phone with a grin on her face. Wait, when she grab that? Her phone was in her bag in her bedroom- “I don’t know how I can help with your past… But with your present, I can,” She reached down and grabbed her hands; placing the mobile device into it, “Call Alfred.”

“What?” Natalya snatched her phone and looked at it. Call Alfred?…. No, he could be too busy. She didn’t want to bother him, “Why?” 

“Because he manages to make you feel better all the time,” Florentyna winked and began to turn around, making her way to the door, “You better call him, or I’ll call him for you. And you know what happens when _I_ call.” 

This resulted in a panic to form in Natalya’s eyes. Her expression didn’t show it, but the last time the other snatched her phone and called Alfred to tell him that she wasn’t doing well, he practically showed up on his bike in less than ten minutes with an unnecessary amount of ice cream, stupid rom-coms, and flowers to make her feel better. This was only a one case cause back in the fall semester when she was frustrated about a class.

Okay, sometimes it was nice when Alfred came by and did things such as that… But he was busy! She knew this. All this week they had been talking where Alfred gave her in detail what he’d be doing with his bike. This showcase tomorrow was very important for the school and she didn’t want him to stress over her.

It was now or never though. The other had been staring directly at her, patiently waiting for her to make the dial. A loud groan was met in response by Natalya as she scrolled through her contacts, tapped on Alfred’s icon, and proceeded to dial the phone. 

The second she did this, Florentyna had given a thumbs up and walked out of the room to give her privacy. Plus, she had to wash off the facemask that she wore, seeing that it had been a while since she had put hers on and her skin was beginning to feel a bit tight.

Throughout the entire week, the men at UHB were indeed going through intense training. Mainly it had been review from their finals back in the winter, but nonetheless, this exhibition was to honor an important anniversary for the university. Alumni throughout the magic dimension and even some higher class members were attending to support the students. 

To say the least, Alfred wasn’t nervous about that at all. But mainly at the fact that his family had shown up a day before to check-up on him… With _her._ This one woman… Goodness, if she and his family had found out about his relationship with Natalya, he would be in major trouble.

When Alfred did have time to himself, it was a relief. His father was a very old-fashioned king. The second he stepped onto campus, he wanted to see everything that Alfred was doing. From his living quarters to his work that was done during the fall semester, it was annoying. Especially when his family forced themselves to meet his teammates, that was even more frustrating. 

His frustration though came to an end as he had to part from his family to get back to training. But when seeing his phone go off and the familiar profile picture that belonged to Natalya, he felt like all magical gods were in his favor. He snuck out of the arena that belonged to UHB to one of the locker rooms for men before pulling out his phone and answering the call, “Oh Natalya,” Alfred began; almost as if it were a relieved one, “I’m so glad you called.”

“…Really?” Natalya began in a nervous tone upon hearing the other’s voice. Shit, maybe she should apologize to Florentyna for suggesting that it was a bad idea. She was behaving like a bit of a brat to her friend and well she jumped into a stupid conclusion thinking Alfred was busy… When in reality, he wanted her to call? “I uh… I wanted to check in with you and see how you were doing. I know you’re busy, but I wanted to see if you uh… Drank enough water.”

Drank enough water? Alfred rose a brow when he heard this and pressed the phone more into his ear. Oh, now he was suspicious. “….So in other words, you were worried about me?” The voice continued from the other line. A short few seconds later, laughter rang in the girl’s ears, “Aw Natty, you’re worried about me, aren’t you?”

“Shut up.” 

“Aw, that makes me want to give you the biggest hug and kiss when I see you tomorrow,” There was a large smile on Alfred’s face. In any doubt when he was stressed or nervous, just hearing that caring tone of voice of hers really was nice. She always said that she wasn’t a good person, which was hard for him to believe. She was a rock on the outside, but on the inside, she meant well. And she was a fairy… They always cared for people, after all. It was in her blood and instincts.

Hearing Alfred’s teasing on the phone had Natalya’s face go red. Even though she was wearing a face mask and it was hard to see, it was there. Why was she dating this guy in the first place? Oh yes, because the sex was good. Yes, the sex was good. That’s what Natalya had been telling herself when really, she was in love with him. Even if he did stupid things such as tease her on texting and flirted with her in weird ways. Oh, and whenever he smiled at her, it made her weak right at the knees.

“Well, to let you know, yes,” Alfred looked up from his spot; a grin still plastered on his face like a smug. She was really funny. Even if she didn’t think that she was, he thought so, “I did drink water. Four bottles.”

“It has to be eight,” She muttered.

“Okay,” Alfred laughed again and walked over to one of the racks of towels that were set up for men in case they wanted to shower. Since he was a bit sweaty from getting back to training, he had reached over for one and used it to rub his hair dry, “I’ll drink four more just for you, okay?” 

“…Fine.” She responded in agreement. At least he would do what she said.

One thing that Natalya couldn’t help but understand was why he always dealt with her attitude. The first time they had met, he didn’t hesitate to try and want to get in contact with her the second she got to Lenfia. Let alone, Florentyna loved to play matchmaker. Alfred thought Florentyna was joking when she said she had a ‘new friend she wanted him to meet’, but she wasn’t at all. Instead, he and Natalya hit it off instantly as if it were meant to be.

….Which was why she always teased Natalya whenever she snuck out with Alfred during late nights. With being so prideful in her work, Florentyna had been convinced that at some point, the two would get married in the next few years.

“How are you doing, though?” Alfred had spoken as he peeked from the exit of the locker room. Okay, no one was looking for him, so he must’ve been in the clear for now. Though there was one point where he noticed his phone buzz, resulting in him to lower it and see a text message from his mother about taking him out for dinner when he finished with his training. Great. He ignored it, and went back to focusing on Natalya, “Good day today at least?”

Natalya let out a small sigh. She didn’t want for him to worry about her since she was still trying to stop thinking about the whole situation. But it didn’t help that Radella had to pull her aside and ask her why she was acting quieter in classes. Alas, she listened to Alfred’s question and cleared her throat, “Mhm. Nothing new to report other than having quizzes starting next week,” It’s the truth, so she wasn’t lying to him, “I just got back to my room, and Florentyna’s having me try this new face-mask recipe she found in one of her beauty magazines…”

“Good,” Alfred couldn’t help but feel himself smile upon hearing this. He was so glad that someone he loved so much had such supportive and caring friends since he knew that the last couple of days have been tough on her with her learning that she was adopted, “Hey. How about after the showcase tomorrow, we go out? I heard that there’s a new pizza place that opened in Magix while we were gone—“

“ _Your highness_ ,” A voice came from behind Alfred as he immediately froze mid-sentence. 

This caught Natalya’s attention on the other line. She assumed he was in a locker room since it was a male’s voice that had spoken out to him. But, she couldn’t tell what was being said. Fear immediately filled Alfred’s face as he shushed whoever had called out to him, before soon Natalya had spoken out, “Alfred?” She asked confusion to hear his sudden silence. 

Shit, this wasn’t good at all! Slowly, he turned around to see what looked like one of his family’s guards. How the hell did they find him here!? Then again, he forgot that there were a lot of guests staying at the university for the exhibition tomorrow… Not surprising at all that his parents would send a guard after him, “The king and queen of Eraqion have delivered a message and wish for you to call them as soon as you can.” 

“Yeah yeah, I got her message. Tell my ‘ma I’ll respond in a few,” Alfred had spoken and waved the guard off. No more privacy, damn. Not even in this locker room could he be alone. Since he knew Natalya was waiting, he directed his attention back to his conversation with her, “Listen Natty, I gotta go. They just called us back in for uh, another training session.”

“Again?” Natalya laid down on her bed now. She swore she heard something else… A male’s voice, but then it would make sense. Perhaps he was being called back for training, so she knew she shouldn’t keep too much of his time. “Alright. I won’t hold you up. Let’s talk about that pizza place tomorrow, okay?”

“Thanks for understanding.” He spoke and already had begun walking out of the locker rooms to be escorted by the guard. His mother really was being a pain wanting to get his attention when clearly he was busy… Better yet, since there was another person there in addition to his parents, he wouldn’t be surprised if his mother and father were trying to get him to spend more time with _her._ Just the thought of it sickened his stomach, “I’ll text you the details on where you can find me tomorrow. Okay? Take care Natty-“ 

_Click._

“…I love you-“ Natalya had spoken out just before the other had hung up, but instead of hearing the same response, the call already disconnected.

Well, talking with Alfred did lessen her worries…. But did it help her feel better about the situation? Nope, no it didn’t at all. 

If anything, now she was worried about Alfred for hanging up unexpectedly like that. By the time she had lowered her phone, Florentyna had returned from rinsing her face and noticed a very pouty Natalya still sitting. 

“What happened?” Florentyna began as she sat down beside the other; a bit confused about what had happened, “Did you call him as I told you?”

“Yes,” Natalya responded and placed her phone onto her lap. She didn’t really want to look at it after that phone call had ended weirdly, “He was happy that I called, but then all of the sudden he had to go and hung up like that.”

“Well, maybe something came up. He’s really busy, you know,” Florentyna had reached over to pat the other’s shoulder sympathetically. 

Maybe she was right. Maybe he was busy and he had to go back with training unexpectedly. After all, Alfred did tell her a while ago that this event was very important for students at UHB. It was showing their skills that they’ve learned as future heroes of the magic dimension, so it was understanding that he needed to get back to training so he could be prepared for it.

“I heard the royal family of Eraqion is coming to this event too. Crazy, huh?” Florentyna had spoken up with a smile, which Natalya thought as a coincidence since now maybe it may sense as to why Alfred seemed tense, “He wants to give a good show to the King and Queen. Maybe not just him, but Gilbert too since they’re from the same planet,”

“Yeah… You’re right,” Natalya agreed with the other and stood up from her seat. The mask on her face was beginning to dry up, so perhaps this was a sign that she should start rinsing it off, “I guess if I was from a Kingdom and the King and Queen of it were coming, I’d like to be representing my planet in the best way that I can.”

If she went to the exhibition tomorrow with bags on her eyes from being this stressed, she knew Alfred would instead of taking her out bring her back to his dorm, force her to lay down and proceed to watch those rom-coms or even superhero movies that he liked to get her to feel better. And she didn’t want that. She wanted to go on a date with him. Hell, even if it was going out and getting pizza together, she wasn’t opposed to that idea at all.

Once she was up, she began making her way over to the bathroom now. The next thing on Florentyna’s spa list was to use a floral conditioner that Tatyana had let them borrow - the one she had used earlier in the week. Florentyna seemed to have gotten good results from it, so Natalya figured why the hell not with trying it. But in order to do that, she needed to rinse her face from the mask first.

Natalya wasn’t the only one stressed about what was about to come the next day. After the phone call between her and Alfred, the message that he had received on his phone was one that he really didn’t want to lay his eyes on.

It had consisted of the information of what time his parents and the said woman he didn’t want to see would be arriving to grab him for supper. In addition, how they expected him to greet them at the gates for the showcase tomorrow and lead them to their seats. He had to stand with them during their introductions since he had to represent his kingdom as well, and then he could go perform.

But if Natalya were to see all of that? With him standing beside the royal family members of Eraqion and being referred to as a prince? Oh, he didn’t know what to do.

Getting that guard off his tail was an easy process. All he had to explain was that he had to retrieve something from his room, but he would meet his family right afterward for that dinner. The guard had bowed at Alfred, dismissing himself from the male, which gave him the chance to sprint off from the arena. He had run directly to the upperclassmen dorms, up a few flights of stairs, and directly to his room where he had walked into seeing Gilbert doing homework at his desk.

“I’m so fucked, Gil,” Alfred began while crumpling up the paper he had in hand and tossing it into a nearby trashcan. The albino who had been witnessing his best friend in such a stressed state was a bit concerning to him as well, seeing that he helped Alfred with why he was ‘fucked’ in the first place.

Back on earth after they had met Florentyna and Natalya, Alfred hadn’t thought once of introducing himself as a Prince. Even Gilbert was surprised he didn’t say anything. He was confused by this seeing that technically Gilbert served the royal family, and technically the only reason he was attending UHB was to make sure that the prince didn’t get into any trouble.

The only reason why Gilbert had agreed to not saying anything with Alfred though was due to the fact that he stuck up for his best friend. If she knew, she would see him completely differently… Or so, that’s what he believed. The thing was, Gilbert pressured Alfred all the time to confess… But to this day, the blonde seemed to struggle with it.

Natalya was just an ordinary beautiful girl from earth. No royal blood in her - at least, that anyone knew of. If his kingdom were to find out that Alfred was having private affiliations, such as going on dates with a normal person and spending alone time with her, everything would be completely ruined.

The media would be following her like crazy too! He already got it enough when he was home, but the entire media for Magix was going to be at the showcase because he was in it. Word could spread quickly if they were caught doing anything, and Natalya didn’t deserve any publicity. She was so stressed out already, that he would feel so bad if he had caused her stress to go haywire.

He was so thankful for Gilbert for helping him this far. But he also felt bad because this situation could ruin it for him too.

The biggest stress for him tomorrow though was the fact that there was a chance Natalya could find out that he really was the prince of Eraqion. What would he do afterward? She would be pissed at him for lying to her, and then the media would go after her and demand thousands of questions! He loved her so much that he didn’t want to lose her at all tomorrow. Especially not lose her to the woman who would be attending tomorrow as well.

“You’re stressed about _Alice_ , right?” Gilbert had begun as he lowered the handheld game he had been in the middle of playing. Technically, Gilbert hadn’t had his training session until later in the day. Alfred was supposed to be in his thought at that moment, which was why he was a bit surprised to see him there, “Gosh, when you told me she’d be here, she’s like the definition of a bad apple. Sour-y and tries to be smarter than you.”

Just hearing _her_ name had shivers run up Alfred’s spine. Indeed, Gilbert was correct.

Alice had been the individual’s name. It was the woman that if she found out that Alfred was having relations with Natalya, she would probably go and attack the living hell out of Natalya too! 

“Yes!” Alfred began and sat down in his seat. At that point, he already had brought his hands up to his head and began holding onto it; trying to figure out what to do about the situation, “Tomorrow is going to be fuckin’ insane the second Natalya steps onto campus! If she sees me with my parents, she’s going to find out I’m the prince. Therefore, she’s going to be pissed. And then the media’s going to know that I have relations with a girl when I’m technically…” He took in a breath out of frustration, “An ‘engaged man’, when I don’t even want to marry her! As for Alice?” He groaned loudly, “She’s going to probably go and kill Natalya. Try to ruin her when Natalya is so innocent in this situation! She’s already stressed out enough now that she found out she’s adopted too. I love her so fucking much that I’d never forgive myself if something happens to her.” 

“Dude,” Gilbert sat up now and lowered the headphones he was wearing since he had been listening to music while doing homework. If there was one thing that he had been thinking about lately, it was indeed about how Alfred was still trying to pull off this lie with Natalya. He couldn’t do it for any longer, “I know you don’t think this is the best solution nor the solution that you want… But I really think you should tell her everything.” 

That made Alfred freeze immediately. Gilbert wanted him to do… What? “You want me to… Tell her everything!?”

“Yeah dude,” The other had nodded and crossed his arms. He was being calm in this situation because well, he already accepted the facts that if the truth didn’t come out, he’d probably be put at the stake by Natalya herself. And not in a good way. Gilbert had never seen Natalya angry, but apparently she has been angry at Florentyna before… And it never seemed to be a good thing at all, “You can’t keep dragging this lie out. If you do, there’ll be consequences. Just get yourself clean and explain to her why you lied in the first place. Maybe she won’t be as pissed if you explain.”

That was a good point. The only reason why he lied in the first place was that he didn’t want Natalya to think of him as a prince, but as a normal guy who was training to be part of the future hero of the magical dimension. 

Perhaps if he did explain to Natalya his feelings on the situation, she would understand. She was understanding…. When she wasn’t pissed. But, he can calm her down and once he got her to calm down, she’ll listen to him. 

“Alright man,” A heavy sigh came from Alfred. Gilbert’s brows rose in surprise. Wait, he was planning to the truth after all this time? 

Telling the truth was the only solution that he had. Gilbert was right too… If he kept dragging out this lie, he could maybe lose Natalya forever, “When she gets here tomorrow," Alfred turned to face the other, "I’ll pull her to the side and tell her in person.” 

_“Why are you so invested in a girl like her anyway?”_

A voice had filled the dorm as the two men had looked up. As they did so, their eyes had locked on with a man with brown hair and a cowlick that swept to the side. In his hand, he had been eating an apple and gave an annoyed glare at the two men who were talking. 

“How’d you get in here, Lovino?” Alfred began with his hands balled into fists. 

“Here to pick up my gear from your teammate,” The brunette had spoken, revealing to be holding onto a suitcase with indeed special gear for heroes. Lovino had been standing outside the door to Gilbert and Alfred’s shared room with a smirk drawn to his face.

Walking in on a conversation such as that one indeed amused Lovino. For one thing, Alfred didn’t like him at all. He seemed to be the type to pick on others for no reason. The issue was that Antonio and Lovino were friends, Antonio was on Alfred’s team… And truthfully? Alfred thought Lovino was angry for the last year because he didn’t want him on his team. 

Alas, the other male continued, “But, you heard me ya bastard,” The man continued as he finished the apple he had been eating before tossing it into a nearby trashcan, “I sure wouldn’t get worked up over a girl like Natalya. She’s a nobody who has no family and will be all over your dick when she finds out your a prince.” 

“Hey hey hey hey, hold up,” Gilbert stood up and walked immediately between the two men. Oh no, this wasn’t good at all. “Dude, why do you always have to act like you have a broom in your ass. Cut it out.”

“I’m just speaking the truth,” Lovino had continued before smirking, already turning himself around. He wasn’t trying to pick a fight, but his words indeed brought an angered look to Alfred’s face, “Besides, haven’t you heard? She’s from Earth. Girls from Earth have boyfriends all the time. I’m betting that she has had at least ten before you, Alfred. That’s how girls from Earth are, just little whores,” He turned his head back, not even noticing how red in anger Alfred’s face had turned in addition to his hands turning into fists, “If you ask me, your highness, the second she finds out you’re a prince, she’ll easily be able to find someone else.”

Gilbert looked over at Alfred whose face was burning red in anger. After hearing that comment, and if it was about someone that he cared about too, he would have been pissed. So all he had done was taken a step back and looked over at Alfred. Plus lowkey, Gilbert thought Natalya wasn’t bad at all. There was this automatic assumption that all people from Earth were bad, and he never saw anything wrong with Natalya. Quite frankly, she was great. She didn’t act like any normal fairy. She stuck up for herself, put on fights, and had an amazing sense of humor… So frankly, the albino didn’t like hearing that insult at all from Lovino. So he stepped back and motioned Alfred right at Lovino, “He’s all yours, dude.” 

It was less than two seconds after Lovino had said that comment when Alfred had jumped on him. All it took was one swing from Alfred’s fist to be directed right into Lovino’s face, punching him right off his feet as the suitcase that was in his hands flew. Alfred was angry. Absolutely angry that this guy could walk in and start talking shit about the person that he loved

Lovino got himself right back up after tasting blood in his mouth. It was a good punch, but soon enough, he had run over and swung his fist into Alfred’s side to punch him back. The next noises that could be heard had been the sounds of not only punching and kicking, but even groans from blood coming from Lovino’s mouth and nose from Alfred practically punching the living life out of him.

The punching and kicking had gotten that bad though, to the point where other individuals of the dorm could hear it. Other suites surrounding Alfred and Gilbert’s room could hear the yelling and the fighting, that no one knew how to react since fights happened all the time at the university. 

The fortunate part though was that every afternoon, the headmaster had taken his walk around the campus to check on all students. Walking to the floor of Alfred and Gilbert’s suite to be hearing loud noises and other students peeking their heads outside of their rooms in concern made him go on alert. And so, he had walked down the hallway to where the fighting was, approaching the door and opening it to seeing the sight of Alfred and Lovino throwing punches at each other. The headmaster sighed in frustration and cleared his throat to indicate his presence.

All it took for Alfred and Lovino to pull back was to hear this one noise. When they did, they immediately pulled apart from each other while Lovino’s mouth had been dripping in blood, while Alfred’s nose had a bit of blood and a small bruise forming on the side of his face.

This wouldn’t be good at all.

“ _What is going on here?_ ” The headmaster had asked the men as he glared directly at Alfred and Lovino. Gilbert seemed to have been a witness in the situation seeing that he wasn’t bloodied up, but the fact that Alfred and Lovino were, it confirmed his suspicions that a fight broke out, “Shouldn’t you men be getting ready for the exhibition?” 

“Yes sir, headmaster Elijah.” Alfred and Lovino had stepped away from each other and stood still in their position to their headmaster. 

“Tomorrow is a very important day for the university, so I should expect that you all be on your best behavior. I will not be tolerating any sort of fighting behavior, especially from you, Jones.” The headmaster snapped at the two men, glaring right at Alfred in particular who was absolutely silent. As he did so, he motioned to the door, “I don’t recall that you live in this suite, Lovino. So get back to your own room. Clean yourselves up. If I walk into seeing another fight like this, I will make sure to suspend you two from participating in missions for the semester,” 

The headmaster was a strong man. He was older, wiser, but a former hero of what was once the Company of Light. He served as a specialist to the guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice, which was why after the tragedy, he had returned to UHB to teach his knowledge of fighting for future heroes of the magic dimension. Eventually, he managed to raise himself into becoming headmaster. So seeing fights like this was very common, which was why he already knew what to say and how to break it up.

Men liked to fight. And he’d threaten to punish them by making sure they didn’t get that heroic experience. He waited for Lovino to leave the room to make his dismissal. But before Alfred and Lovino were officially gone, he made his point clear to make sure the men would fully stop with the fighting,

_“…And I hope to never see something like this happen again.”_

* * *

“ _This place is so huge!”_

“I thought you’ve been here before, Florentyna,”

Innocent laughter came from Florentyna as she turned to face the group behind her. Natalya, Mei, Tatyana, and Monika had been standing there with unamusement all drawn to their faces since Florentyna had been acting like she was on a different planet. Florentyna had pushed up her sunglasses and looked towards the entrance of the school, “I guess it just feels so lively with there being so many guests for this showcase.” 

Indeed, there were a lot of guests. Not only did it include the students of Lenfia that had managed to get tickets, but families of the heroes, media outlets, and even some royals were attending. 

Chatter amongst the group of Lenfia students had taken place. There had been just about fifty of them that had managed to get tickets to attend, including the group of five where Florentyna seemed to be the most excited to be at the show.

The chaperone of the trip itself had been Headmistress Radella. It was a shock to a majority of students, but no one was questioning it since it was much better that it be her than the infamous Glynda. Lenfia had been invited to the showcase as a VIP guest, so at least she would be guaranteed a good spot while her students would be able to see the hard work that the future heroes had been trained on so far. 

For Natalya, this wasn’t her first time at the university. Throughout the fall semester, she had done her countless methods of sneaking in to spend time with Alfred. Already she knew where the entrance was, but never did she get to see the campus for itself. When she did visit, she would be directly led to Alfred’s room so she wouldn’t get caught by other students seeing a fairy from Lenfia. Thus, as all the students walked in, she remained quiet as the headmistress had lead everyone in before stopping them to explain the rules.

“All of you have received a ticket of admission to the event,” Radella had spoken out to the group of fairies, “Please do not lose it at any moment of the event. There are places where you may use the restroom if you must, as well as places to get drinks and snacks to have during the exhibition. Please make sure to be in your assigned seat no later than an hour from now. If not, the doors will close and you will not be able to watch the event.”

“Seems easy enough,” Monika had spoken out to the group, which the majority of them nodded in agreement. 

This was the time where everyone would get what they wanted to eat, go to the bathroom, and maybe catch up with friends who did attend UHB to give them support before they went out to support. This was Natalya’s cue to take out her phone and text Alfred since after all, she did agree to go see him before he performed. 

Mei grinned at the sight of this and leaned forward towards the blonde, now letting out a whisper, “You going to see Alfred?” 

“Mhm,” Natalya nodded and slipped her phone back into her pocket before turning to face the other, “He sent me a text this morning that he wanted to talk about something important. So I may split for a bit from you guys.”

Being woken up to a message that Alfred needed to see her before the showcase was something she didn’t expect. They were to go out to dinner after the event, which she was indeed looking forward to. But the fact that he seemed more eager to see her now than later surprised her. She wasn’t complaining about it though. 

“That’s no problem,” Mei gave her friend a thumbs up of reassurance. This meant that Natalya would be alone, but she knew she’d be fine, “You’ve got all of our numbers, so if you need anything or need one of us to meet you at the gate of the arena to lead you to the seats, we will.”

“Thanks, guys,” Natalya sighed softly and turned from her spot. She only had an hour to find Alfred and talk to him, so she couldn’t waste any more time. So with a nod, she proceeded to turn away and make her way directly towards the male dormitories by pretending that she had to use the restroom. No one seemed suspicious, so it seemed that she was in the clear.

However, Natalya walking off innocently toward the restrooms was one thing that hadn’t slipped from the headmistress’ view. Radella had a small frown on her face, indeed still feeling sympathy towards the girl. Hopefully, she was feeling better after that conversation the two had the previous day. While she hoped Natalya felt better, there was still that lingering uneasiness in her stomach. Mainly at the fact that after that phone call she made to get in contact with the leader of the Magix’s authorities, she had been instructed to continue watching her.

The authorities had instructed for Radella to be the to propose to Natalya that she may be a lost Princess. But the thing was, she refused to. She explained that the poor girl was going through a lot allowed to go up and suggest to Natalya that she could be the lost princess. The poor girl was going through already as is with the start of the new semester and finding a life-changing thing about herself. So she would plan to stay afar but would keep her eyes out on her.

The eagerness that came from the authorities made her come to the conclusion that they had hope. If Natalya indeed turned out to be the lost Princess after so long, there was no doubt that anyone would be upset. Quite the opposite… But for dark forces who had vengeance towards the royal family, it was a concerning thing. Especially for those witches from the Tower of the Dead… All Radella knew was that the witches had been suspended, but a suspension wouldn’t be enough to stop dark forces of magic from attempting to pursue the dragon flame and heart of ice. 

For all she knew, Radella kept her hope up. Being a former member of the company of light, a group to protect the royal family of the magical dimension, she was behaving as she would years ago if she was on a similar kind of mission. Since the tragedy that had taken place with the ancestral witches seventeen years ago, she along with the rest of the dimension had been heartbroken with being unsure of where the royal family was now. 

Ever since Natalya had stepped onto her campus, she discovered her proper fairy powers… Radella always had an uneasy feeling. Almost as if, she had known Natalya her entire life. The last thing she had done with the royal family before the battle had been taking the title of their youngest princess’, Natasha, as her Godmother. 

_“Good morning Radella,_ ” A familiar voice met the older woman’s ears as she stood there. With turning around, she met the eyes of another headmistress of a school south from where they were located. 

Seeing headmistress Evanora since their last conversation was indeed a bit of a surprise to Radella. There was a small sigh out of frustration towards the woman. While in the past the two had never gotten along, this being a common thing for a fairy and witch, they did have mutual respect towards one another. In addition, Evanora had also been part of the investigation with Natalya… As well as was once a former member of the Company of Light as well. 

That was until the tragedy took place. Her interest in the dark arts had risen since the rise of the ancestral witches. While Evanora wasn’t a dark individual interested and crazy enough to attempt pursuing the dragon flame and heart of ice, she was loyal to the former royal family. So when it was brought to her attention that there may be a possibility that one of the children survived, Evanora hadn’t discussed the information at all with anyone other than the headmistress of Lenfia, headmaster of the University of Heroics and Bravery, and the magical dimension’s higher authorities. She was loyal and stayed loyal to the Braginsky family after all these years.  Everyone in the dimension since the loss of the family still had a sense of respect for how good the family was towards all magical beings as well.

“A good morning to you as well, Evanora,” Radella had smiled and motioned the other to join her inside the school while they were walking. 

As the two women walked inside, the guests of the exhibition had been walking around. There were hundreds of guards approaching stands that were being sponsored by the students of UHB with getting drinks and other necessities to watch and support the students who were showcasing.

“I noticed you were staring at her again,” Evanora had commented on the other’s behavior. This resulted in Radella letting out a nervous chuckle and turning her head away. Wow, was it that noticeable? Natalya didn’t even notice her so she thought she was in the clear, “Ever since we had that last meeting, I was reading about her profile at Lenfia… Very academically well, powers to manipulate fire and ice… And she reminds me of _her_ too.” 

_Her_ … Queen Alyona. It wasn’t just the way Natalya had behaved. It was her face, her hair… While her personality wasn’t the same, since Alyona was a very gentle woman, Natalya radiated similar energy to the former queen. Then there were the other features such as her eyes, pale skin - all connecting back to King Viktor too.

“I’m glad that I’m not the only one who has noticed,” Radella began in a lowered tone and sighed, “…Have you heard?” 

“Heard what?” Evanora couldn’t help but to chuckle softly, “You fairies are usually so secretive with surprises.”

To her surprise, Radella had thought that the Magix authority would have told the leaders of each school what was going on. Let alone, after she had her phone call to notify about what Natalya had told her in her office. “…She found out she was adopted and not from earth the other day,” She explained in a low whisper, which got Evanora to immediately silence. So maybe this was why Radella had been so interested and intrigued by Natalya… She was a fairy that had no background at all, “I don’t want to get her hopes up by sharing what I know, but it scares me. I would be so happy if she really is the missing Princess, but I don’t want to get my hopes up—“ 

Radella’s mouth was immediately covered by Evanora’s hand. This was not the place to talk about it now. It was understandable since Radella was an older woman and was very sensitive, especially since she loved the former king and queen so much, as well as for their children…. But out in the open? What if Natalya had been walking in their direction?

“We’ll discuss later,” Evanora reassured the other, “Right now, we’re at an event to support the men of the magical dimension. She’s fine now, and if she really is Natasha, then we know that she’ll be okay.” 

That was enough to make sure that Radella had calmed down. After all, she had been in very high alert since Natalya had come to her and told her about her earth family confessing about her being an adopted child. 

With Natalya, since sneaking off towards the direction of the bathrooms, she had gone the complete opposite direction. Instead, she played it casual while walking to the second year dorms. Already she knew the process of getting in, but it seemed that it was open for everyone due to families also attending the event. Alfred had asked her to meet him at his dorm, which was exactly where she had been walking towards. It was much quieter than it had been near the entrance of the arena, so she was glad that she would be able to be in private with him before he went out to participate in the showcase. 

What she wasn’t expecting to see though, was just how many royals she would pass by on the way to the said dorms. She wasn’t expecting to see anyone royal at all just walking through the entrance. Now, she was intrigued. There she was, a normal student from Lenfia in casual clothing, and there being guards lined up at the entrance. 

However, she avoided eye contact at all costs. No need to be acknowledged by royals. Oh no. Just walking down the hallway toward the direction of the stairs, she had noticed that there was a royal family walking out of a staircase that had the door held open by a guard. She couldn’t help but stare now at their beautiful jewels, robes, and even someone who looked like a princess following behind them. 

There had been a taller male with blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and eyebrows that needed a really good waxing. If Florentyna saw this person, whom she assumed was the King, she was sure she would faint on the spot. Beside the King had been a woman who had brunette hair with it being pulled back into a bun. On top of her head, she had been wearing a crown and had a small smile on her face. She and the King were walking hand-in-hand. 

For Natalya, she thought to see the royal family of the United Kingdom years ago was intimidating. Even when she was with her family and they were hundreds of feet away, it was uncomfortable to her. But seeing a royal family walking out this close to her? She didn’t want to get near them at all. 

Alas, she kept her distance away. Natalya moved to the side since she didn’t want to interfere and let them walk ahead from her. Don’t ever mess with royal people was one thing she always was told by Florentyna. Some royals were nice, some were really jerks. Natalya didn’t mean to judge these royals, but they seemed to look like nice people… But Florentyna was a princess and had a better experience, so she chose to believe her friend’s advice. 

Once she believed that the king and queen of whatever kingdom they were from passed by, Natalya continued walking forward toward the staircase that would lead to the upper floors of the dorms. She thought that was the last of the royals, so she had been just about to walk through the entrance of the staircase until being greeted to another body still walking out of it.

Looking up, Natalya had fallen back to the ground after bumping into the figure. She blinked for a moment in confusion upon realizing who she had just bumped into. It was that girl who was following that royal family out-! She thought this Princess or whatever had already walked out… But from seeing something in her hand, Natalya managed to click two and two together. This girl must’ve forgotten something and ran back, so now she was just leaving. 

At this point, Natalya had embraced death since she probably knew that was coming to her for bumping into someone who had more in their bank account than her. And this woman did not look happy at all. She was on the shorter end, her hair had been curled and pinned back into two low pigtails. She had green eyes, pale skin, and had been wearing a pair of glasses which allowed for her to glare right at Natalya from where she was on the ground. She had also fallen from bumping into the girl and indeed was not happy. With the tiara on her hair in addition to the green gown she was wearing, Natalya considered this her death sentence.

Running into a royal? She didn’t mean too. Maybe this was what Florentyna meant… Some royals looked nice, but on the inside, they were absolutely rude.

Without a second to think, Natalya had allowed for her instincts to kick in “I’m so sorry—“ She stood up; dusting herself off quickly to hold out a hand to the woman. At least she could do was help the stranger. More or less, she was also avoiding the thought of getting in trouble.

But instead of this said princess taking her hand…. Well, she had slapped the hand away. This caught Natalya off guard as she stepped away. Okay, now she knew she messed up. The Princess had stood up on her own and spoke in a loud, clear tone, “You stupid clumsy girl!” She had spat with a heavy accent and pointed at Natalya, almost as if she had higher authority than her, “For goodness sake, watch where you’re going! Disgusting peasant!”

Peasant? Whoa, she was definitely dealing with someone royal. Florentyna really wasn’t joking. Nope. And Florentyna was the kind of person to joke a lot. Whoever this Princess was, as much as Natalya wanted to talk back at her for insulting her for a small accident, she bit down on her tongue. She would have loved to punch the woman if she could, but she also wasn’t ready to die today. 

Was this Princess calling her a ‘peasant’ because of how she looked? It would make sense, seeing that this princess was in robes and a gorgeous dress. With Natalya, she was wearing a simple white dress, a jacket, some sandals, and her hair had been pulled back halfway with a ribbon. 

“My apologies, uh…” Natalya blinked for a moment, “Your highness?”

“ _That’s_ Princess Alice to you, little girl!” The royal spat again before turning her heel and stomping away in anger from a very confused Natalya.

Part of Natalya wanted to laugh. If there was one thing she could conclude from that interaction, it was the fact that Princess really was spoiled. She knew she could get angry herself, but throwing a hissy fit like that just because she bumped into her? ‘Alice’, or whatever, had problems. Definite problems. 

And she couldn’t wait to tell Alfred the story of running into this girl. She was sure he’d laugh since he tended to make fun of royal families all the time. About how he’s heard that royal families were preppy and how he’d be embarrassed to be open. Plus, it was a scenario that she wasn’t planning to experience when going to Alfred’s dorm.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to run into her again. The King and Queen didn’t seem so negative… Let alone, she was based on her assumptions just looking at them. But at least now she knew whoever that Princess was, she was probably the brat of the family.

Natalya was silent as she walked up the staircase to the suites. It seemed to be pretty quiet, which made sense seeing that the showcase was to start pretty soon. It was good that it was quiet, which would give her and Alfred the privacy and space to have a private talk. When he did send her a text earlier that morning, she was a bit concerned about what he needed to tell her. 

She hoped that nothing bad happened to him.

With a few steps down the hallway, she eventually did reach the shared suite that belonged to Alfred, Antonio, Gilbert, and Mathias. Natalya placed three knocks on the door of the dorm to indicate that it was her. She didn’t want to call out to him, especially since she technically wasn’t supposed to be in that area of the school. So it didn’t take long for the door to open, and a very stressed out Alfred was exposed to her.

What was once a calm expression on her face immediately turned into one of concern.

“You look like you were hit by a truck—“ Natalya couldn’t help but comment at the sight of his appearance. It was true. While his hair seemed nicely combed back, there was a bruise on his face… And his face was red, almost as if he were angry, “—Are you okay?” 

She didn’t even get an answer to her statement nor question. Instead, all she had been met with had been his embrace tightly holding onto her. Maybe he just needed a hug; thus resulting in her to return the said gesture while running her fingers through his hair soothingly like she always did. 

“Sorry babe,” Alfred couldn’t help but sigh heavily as he pulled back now. He knew that Natalya wasn’t expecting that to happen, and he knew that she didn’t enjoy unexpected embraces like that… But by seeing her facial expression, he could tell that she understood why he did it, “You have no idea how stressful this whole exhibition has been on me.” 

Very stressful… Actually, he didn’t look forward to the showcase at all. Having his family come to visit him to wish him luck on his performance was what he thought would happen when he saw his parents in front of his door. But instead, he was greeted to his father being angry at him because apparently the headmaster had told him about the fight. 

Then led to the argument about how ‘Princes shouldn’t be getting into fights’ or the threats of how ‘He needed to stop getting into fights or else his father would remove him from the school’. The best one was since he was ‘going to be the future King of Eraqion, he needed to cut the shit’. And Alfred defended himself. He defended himself about how he only was defending himself, but regardless, his parents didn’t seem to focus on him defending himself. 

When Alfred had said she had no idea, she stared at his face and reached over with her fingers to examine the bruise, “…I’m sorry, but I know what it’s like getting punched in the face,” She began and narrowed her brows a bit. Alfred’s expression softened. Wait, she knew what it was like? Has she been in fights before? “Did you get into a fight?” 

Her past was one that she wasn’t proud of… But the thing was that he knew she was bullied a lot growing up. Mainly due to her calm nature of personality. And when people picked fights with her, she wouldn’t hesitate to defend herself. Though this was when she was in her pre-teens. She didn’t get into fights minus with witches since getting to Lenfia, but she knew the feeling of getting punched and having bruises right after. Alas, she didn’t want to say anything since right now it was his turn to talk and for her to listen since that’s why she went there in the first place.

“It’s a long story, Nat,” Alfred sighed and looked down, almost shamefully. He didn’t deserve this affection at all from her… He was lying to her. And now, he had managed to worry her when whatever was going on with him, she didn’t need to be, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you came by to talk.”

Even if he told her not to worry, that was doing the absolute opposite with her. Instead, she leaned over and embraced him now, It came out as a surprise to the male, but he looked down at her before being met by her staring up at him, “Tell me to not worry again and I’ll punch you in the face this time,” It was a small threat that was met with a kiss on his cheek.

Alfred smiled and let out a chuckle. He swore he had to be the luckiest guy in the world. There was no one else who would listen to him. Hell, even Gilbert wasn’t helping with his advice on telling the truth to Natalya. He planned to tell her that yes, he was technically the prince of Eraqion… But right now? When this was the first time seeing her after a whole month?

He’d tell her during their date later in the day. Right now was too much of a chaotic time to say something. 

Instead of spilling all of his thoughts onto her that very moment, there was something more that he wanted to do. So once the other had pulled away from him briefly, he had taken this time to properly lean forward and give her a kiss. 

It was an unexpected one. Nonetheless, she didn’t mind to return at all. She had leaned forward herself and gave just as much as he was into the kiss. Feeling the warmth of his lips against her soft ones, his taste… It was so nice. So nice after everything she had gone through the last few weeks in her life. She didn’t know that Alfred had been going through a lot himself, but the feeling was mutual with him. The male had brought his hand forward to cup the other’s cheek affectionately. When he was able to be like this with her, it always made him feel better.

And it certainly was making her feel better as well.

What the kissing couple though hadn’t been paying attention to was the fact that as they stood in the entrance of the suite, was that a pair of heels had been walking up the staircase out of frustration. The door of the staircase had opened where a woman had walked out with a bitter look to her expression. But alas, the couple seemed to be more focused on their kiss after a month than someone in the hallway.

“Where the hell is Alfred’s dorm? He was supposed to be walking with me…!” She couldn’t help but to snarl to herself while looking down each hallway. Ever since running into that girl in the hallway, the royal had thought Alfred was following her. Turns out, he didn’t. She knew that he had gone through a fight with his father, but that was another issue for him to take care of it. Not her problem. They were supposed to be making an entrance together at this showcase… 

…Though just as she turned the hallway to the suites, that was when she saw it. She noticed two people down the hallway in front of one of the dorm rooms. Maybe she could ask to see if they knew where Prince Alfred’s room was. After all, she would imagine that everyone would know where it was. He was probably the only prince at this damn school! Alice was still bitter that he decided to leave the kingdom instead of proceeding with their arranged marriage. This was why she planned to convince him that after this exhibition that he returns to Eraqion, marry her, and then he can proceed with his studies at the university.

“Excuse me-“ She called out from down the hallway, but was met with no response. An annoyed sigh came from Alice as she approached closer, just about to call out again until she saw what was exactly going on from a distance. It was a couple… They were holding onto each other and kissing intimately with one another with their eyes shut, clearly not paying attention to their surroundings at all.

Her eyes widened upon seeing the familiar blonde hair and glasses that belonged to her beloved. With the armor he had been wearing to represent his kingdom and the badge to indicate that he was a second year, she knew that had to be him.

And… That girl. Wasn’t that the girl she had accidentally run into earlier? Why was _she_ with Alfred? Who was she? What was her affiliation with him? Let alone, why didn’t Alfred tell her that he was seeing another woman while they were engaged! 

Then again, with this engagement being an arranged one, she already knew that Alfred didn’t like her at all and didn’t want to marry her. She wanted to prove herself to him though. She wanted to prove that she could be the girlfriend or wife that he wanted… But, now she didn’t know what to do seeing that he had his lips and hands all over some peasant. 

Wait, was this why he didn’t say anything? Did his family even know that he was seeing something?…

A devilish grin began to form on Alice’s face. 

That would make sense…. If his parents knew that he was seeing some girl when being technically in a soon-to-be arranged marriage, they would never allow it. Alfred was to become King in just two years. He needed to be married so he could have a Queen to rule beside him. That was why he was supposed to be marrying her.

Yet, Alfred managed to fall in love with a girl? A girl, whom Alice assumed, had no royal title at all? A normal girl being in a relationship with the future King?

…She he could have fun with this. She didn’t catch the girl’s name at all earlier, but all she knew was that whoever she was, she was going to be in major trouble now that she saw her with her fiancee. Alice not only had devised a quick plan in her head…

…but she planned to ruin this innocent girl’s life.

Alice was quiet when she stepped out of the hallway. No need to allow herself to get caught now. Her smirk was still present on her lips as she made her way down to the staircase, muttering to herself in the process of doing so, “Have fun kissing my fiancee little girl, because that’s going to be the last one you’ll ever have with him.”

Alfred and Natalya hadn’t noticed anyone at all in the hallway during that time frame. By the time they had pulled away from the kiss, Alice had been long gone. It was an intimate kiss that the couple shared, but it was definitely needed. The two were feeling much better after it, before soon, Alfred led the other into his room. He shut the door afterward, giving them the opportunity to talk in private.

When they did, she had approached his bed and sat down, patiently waiting on what he had to tell her. What ended up happening though… Was, well, not really what Alfred wanted to tell her.

And it wasn’t telling the truth.

It began with him spilling about how the royal family of the planet he was from was there at the showcase. Since there had been a lot of men from this planet attending, there were high expectations. One of these expectations was that by the time he graduated, he would be serving as a hero in the planet. The thought of disappointing the royals was horrifying to him… Since his ‘scholarship’ to the school was from the royal family. It was how he was able to go, and he wanted to show that he did learn things about heroics throughout the last two years. If he had disappointed them, there was that potential threat of getting his scholarship revoked, and thus having to go back home.

Natalya was silent the entire time when hearing Alfred explain this to her. If anything, she couldn’t help but to feel her expression soften a bit seeing that he was genuinely being honest with her. She could tell that he was nervous, but now that she knew the source of his nervousness? It made her feel better about herself that she was actually being a good girlfriend. 

“Hey,” She began after a moment and approached him; reaching over to gently rub his shoulder while he had been sitting in his chair, “I’m not going to tell you to relax because that’s a stereotypical response. But, you’re probably one of the most talented students here at this school. Don’t let your nerves get to you, because that’ll interfere with your overall performance. You’ll do amazing out there…” She paused for a moment and chuckled, pulling her hand back, “Makes me remember the time I was nervous about my last competition back home… I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to land this trick called a triple axel, and my father told me if I kept being nervous, I’d fuck up. So I prepared myself for anything to happen when I went out there. And well… I landed it. Point is, underestimating yourself is going to lead you to mess up.” 

Being nervous was something that she completely understood. For her, prior to leaving for Lenfia, she did figure skating a huge portion of her life. It started off with ballet, and while she did enjoy some aspects of it, she had more of a connection dancing on ice. She had competitions and performances where she was afraid, but she knew that staying nervous wouldn’t help her at all. 

The thing was that Alfred knew Natalya was right. When nerves were at a high percentage, they could go haywire once on stage. The truth was, her just being there was enough to help him feel better. 

Hearing the sounds of trumpets outside caught their attention. That meant that the showcase was going to begin soon, which also meant that Alfred had to hurry downstairs to the arena to walk with his team. 

“I suppose that’s my cue that I need to get out of here, hm?” Natalya turned her head over to the direction of the window. It was a beautiful day outside; a good one to be having such an exciting event take place. 

Alfred chuckled hearing these words and stood up from his seat to stretch. She was right. They should probably get going before the doors of the arena were closed on them, “Yep… But don’t worry,” He approached her and placed a hand on top of her head. This caught her off guard, but soon, she had looked up at him with her brows risen, “We’ll see each other later. Let’s talk at dinner tonight.”  


…He still wanted to talk to her? This was surprising to Natalya, but all she did was give him a simple nod before being led out of the room. Alfred needed to tell her the truth. And at this dinner with her, he’d be able to lay out everything on the table. About who he was, why he didn’t tell her sooner. The best part being no interruptions from family or even his school.

Once the two had left the dorm, they once again exchanged a quick kiss before turning their separate ways. Right now, they couldn’t be lovey-dovey with each other so out in the open like this. Today was a serious day and if one of the administrators of her or his school caught them, they could be in big trouble.

Natalya proceeded onwards in the direction where she had first come from. Down the hallway from Alfred’s dorm, a right, and then another right to get to the staircase. She opened the door and walked down the case; wondering if her friends were waiting for her. Probably that would be the case, which meant she would need to hurry so she could catch up in time to grab her seat.

Unfortunately for her though, getting to the arena on time wouldn’t be able to work out in her favor.

Reaching down the bottom of the stairs, the hallways were empty. She assumed that most families had already gone to go take their seats, which was her indicator that she really needed to hurry. And so, she walked down the hallway connecting to the stairs to get to the exit of the dorms.

That was until she had noticed a woman standing there. Not just any woman, but the one she had accidentally bumped into earlier. 

Disgust immediately filled Natalya’s expression. Great. The last thing she wanted was to see the lady who called her a ‘peasant’ for accidentally bumping into her. The last thing she needed was to start something with that ‘Princess’. Just based on her attitude too, Natalya was in no mood to argue with someone of high authority. So she continued walking; avoiding eye contact at all costs while walking past her and pretending she hadn’t seen her before. In the past, this method always worked for her…

…But today, it didn’t seem to slide well with that princess.

“ _Well well well,_ ” She had begun, which got Natalya to freeze. Great, what was this woman going to do this time? Call her a peasant again and demand that she get on one knee? This better be good, “Not only do you bump into me earlier, but you ignore me as I’m standing here clear in the hallway! Do you not know how to acknowledge a royal individual?”

All Natalya had done was stand there in silence when hearing the unexpected lecture. What, this girl had to be at least her age or close the age of seventeen. And she thought she could try and lecture her? Just because she was royalty doesn’t mean that Natalya had to listen. She wasn’t even trying to interact with her in the first place, which was why she purposely ignored her. Besides, she wasn’t even a citizen of her kingdom. 

“….Uh, sorry, princess?” Natalya began and rubbed her neck; unsure of how to respond to that statement, “You didn’t seem like you wanted to talk to a peasant, so I’m not going to force that or try and bother you.”

The entire time Alice stood there, there had been a large grin forming on her lips. So it was the same girl that she had bumped into earlier and had been smooching with her Alfred… And she seemed too oblivious to the matter too. Alice wondered if this girl knew exactly who she was. And if she didn’t, well… This ‘peasant' had no idea what was about to come.

“Oh, I don’t talk to peasants indeed,” Alice continued and held out her hand towards the direction of the girl, “I especially don’t talk to whores who make-out with a taken man.”

Natalya’s eyes widened when she heard this. Were her ears deceiving her, or did this princess just call her a whore?

“Excuse me?” She began and turned herself around, giving the Princess her full attention. Annoyance had grown to her expression, clearly not taking that insult so lightly. She had been just about to open her mouth until she noticed something.

Wait, what was she doing?

A glow of magic began to form around the hand that was pointed at Natalya’s direction. That was when her instincts had fully hit her. When seeing a burst of magic fly immediately in her direction, Natalya had immediately jumped to the side; dodging the attack. Was that meant for her?

“Are you crazy!?” Natalya had shouted as she stood up and patted the dust off of her knees when she had jumped to the ground for cover, “Who are you, anyway?”

This Princess was attacking her? Was this because she talked back at her? Natalya stood there with her arms out almost defensively; just in case this woman decided to send another attack at her. Who did this woman think she is? She didn’t even know what she did in the first place! 

Did she keep talking about a taken man? Alfred wasn’t taken, she knew that. If anything, he was taken to her just as she was taken to him. He couldn’t be cheating either. That was hard for her to believe. Even if he was, she would be able to tell easily because he was a horrible liar with her at all times. Plus she could see his aura. She could tell that he wanted to tell her something, but cheating wasn’t it. Her powers told her that.

Alice’s eyes narrowed at the girl. So, she knew how to dodge attacks… That meant she knew how to fight. It took her a second to process it, but then she realized it. This mystery girl that was making out with her Alfred was a fairy. Not just any fairy, but she was a trained one in combat. She was angry. Alfred picked himself a little fairy girlfriend?

That was absolutely unacceptable. Instead, once again, the magic began to form around her hands and she had thrown it in the direction of Natalya. With this being another attack, Natalya stood her guard and held her own hands up to form a barrier. The magic that had hit the barrier immediately formed into ice and shattered into pieces, which caught Alice off guard.

What kind of fairy was this person?

“My name is Alice, the future Queen of Eraqion.” Alice began, now holding her hands in fists as she began to make her way towards the direction of the girl who was standing there. Natalya backed away with each step she took, not wanting to get involved with her at all. If they were caught fighting, at least she could say that Alice was the one who was attacking her first…. Which was true! “And yes, I’m crazy! Crazy in love! And I’m going to show you just exactly what happens when you take a woman’s fiancée!” 

“Fiancée?!” Natalya couldn’t help to stare at her for a long time. None of this was making sense to her at all… And despite this Princess looking mad, she stared for a moment and slowly began to laugh. This response wasn’t met well with Alice as her hands soon glew with magic once more. But who could blame her? She had no idea what this Princess was talking about, “Listen, ‘your highness’, uh, Princess Alice, whatever the fuck you are - I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just back off, I’m not trying to start a fight here.”

“So you don’t know…” Alice’s eyes widened before her laughter began to fill the empty space in the hallway. This was great! Alfred didn’t even tell her at all he was supposed to be in an arranged marriage. 

This laughter from Natalya’s point of view was met with more confusion since the only thing she was interpreting from Alice was that she had to be a crazy Princess. And here she was, thinking she was crazy when she got mad at Alfred for doing stupid like leaving the toilet seat up.

What she wasn’t expecting for the other to do though was to hold her hands in the air and magic soon began to surround her. The magic grew and grew which resulted in a bit of wind to pick up. Natalya held her arms over her face, shielding herself from what the other was doing. Alice’s laughter continued to fill the air before she took a step towards the other woman, “If you don’t know, then I’ll happily tell you the truth.”

The glowing magic had formed all around Alice’s body. Within seconds, her entire appearance began to change. Instead of the gown and tiara, she had been wearing, she had transformed into a white blouse with a red skirt that sparkled. In her hair, she had a barrette pulling her hair halfway back with feathers on its ends, red bracelets around her wrists, and red knee-lengthed boots on her feet. Behind her, a pair of red wings grew out. The anger was still present on her face and only increased the more and more she got closer to Natalya.

Lowering her arms to see that the woman had transformed into a fairy… Now, Natalya was shocked. She thought this woman was just a normal bratty Princess, but this was a whole different case she was handling. This Princess - was a fairy! She didn’t even behave like a fairy, seeing that she looked like she was going after Natalya for blood.

The thing was that Natalya couldn’t — well, more of, didn’t want to transform in this situation. If she were to attempt to do so, she could get in trouble with her school. She was a student representing her school. If she were to use magic on someone like a princess, she would become Lenfia College’s ‘savage student who decided to take on a battle with a royal’.

What she could use was defensive magic though, right? Was she allowed to at least defend herself? Plus, if she avoided transforming, then if someone were to catch them they would see that it was Alice who started the fight first. 

“Listen, lady,” Natalya slowly backed away from the fairy that was now in the air, flying slowly in her direction. When seeing this, she had held her own hands up to form a shield in case she attacked. “You keep talking about a fiancée. Are you talking about yours or my boyfriend? Because he isn’t engaged the last time I checked.”

“…He didn’t even tell you?!” Alice stared at her in shock. Asking that question seemed to be the icing on the cake for Natalya before soon, she had swung her hands again. The barrier that protected Natalya was met with another hit of magic from this fairy. “This is amazing! Oh, I can’t wait to see his face when he sees me put your head at the stake!”

Head at the stake? This woman did not seem like she was joking either. She looked like she was going to actually attempt to kill her. As much as she wanted to fight back, she couldn’t. No, fairies don’t fight each other. For training purposes, she had to fight against other fairies in brief matches - but never a true fight like this. 

All she could think of doing at that very moment was… Well, run. 

It was the only solution that came to her mind. She wasn’t going to allow for this girl to escape. Already she had a feeling that if she attacked Alice and someone saw, she’d be the one punished just because she wasn’t a royal. And thus, this was what she exactly did. Natalya turned around as quickly as she could and sprinted. This didn’t seem to settle though with Alice.

When she saw Natalya begin to make the sprint, she didn’t hesitate to immediately go after her; sending more magic in her direction in hopes to hit the girl.

_ “Get back here!!” _

* * *

_“I wonder what’s taking Natalya so long…”_

Inside the arena, a group of girls had been sitting at their seats near its entrance. It had gotten to a point where the group couldn’t wait longer for Natalya, so they had to sit. She had her ticket, so hopefully, she should be able to get herself into the arena before the show began. 

“Maybe she decided to have a quickie with Alfred,” Florentyna couldn’t help but to giggle while she had been in the middle of stuffing her mouth with popcorn. This resulted in Tatyana to immediately slap her in the back of the head because that comment was definitely not necessary.

“Manners!” Tatyana snapped at the other. The fact that Florentyna had the audacity to make innuendos when they were out in public. Her joke though was met by laughter with Mei and Monika, who seemed to be preoccupied with their phones.

“Well, wherever she is,” Mei spoke out as she had been scrolling through her phone with her headphones resting on her shoulders. The exhibition was about to start. With her being the fairy of music, she wanted to play battle music so she could enjoy watching all of the fights and action that took place, “I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”

The sounds of trumpets blaring filled the arena to indicate that the showcase would be beginning shortly. Just down the field, Alfred had been on a motorcycle with his team lined up doing warm-ups. The entire time he did his warm-ups though, he had been glancing back at the audience to seeing his father staring directly at him. 

Yikes, now he was more uncomfortable.

What made it worse too was the fact that he didn’t see Natalya sitting beside her friends. He could see Florentyna, Monika, Mei, and Tatyana all talking with one another in the seats meant for Lenfia students… But right beside them was an empty seat. That had to be Natalya’s. He already knew she began to walk back from his dorm to the arena, so what was taking her a long time? 

The only individual who seemed to notice that Alfred was staring at the audience and looking around, was Monika herself. She rose a brow and waved at him, which Alfred acknowledged by waving back. For some strange reason, she couldn’t help but feel that Alfred was looking for Natalya and also didn’t know where she was…

…Which would make sense, since she and the rest of the group also had no idea where she was.

What the group didn’t know was that Natalya… Well, she had practically been running for her life through the school. The entire time she had been running, she only would glance back whenever Alice would make another attack for her. 

Each attack took a second for her to process before dodging. With each dodge, she stood herself up and continued sprinting. If she could just get herself to the entrance of the arena and quickly to her seat, then maybe this princess or whatever would stop attacking her. Princesses wouldn’t attack innocent civilians, right?

And if she didn’t, then well, she would have a reason to transform and have to fight back.

Unfortunately for Natalya, reaching the entrance didn’t seem to be the solution to her current problem. It had been only two minutes after the doors had closed when she reached them. And she remembered what the headmistress said about the tickets. If they weren’t at the door before they closed, then… Well, there was no way she was getting into the arena.

“Mother fucker…!” Natalya slammed her fists into the door to see if someone would open them. But who would be able to hear the sound of fists pounding against a large door? She sighed in frustration and turned around in thoughts of where she could find another escape route. There was going through the entrance of the school, but she had to get into the actual arena to guarantee a safe spot. 

How else was she going to get proper help? Everyone was inside it, so it was her only place of getting help.

_“Where do you think you’re going…?”_

Hearing the voice had Natalya’s heart drop. This fairy was quick. Quick to the point where all it took was for her to look up to be greeted to the sight of Alice’s green eyes piercing right at hers and red wings keeping her into the air. She pressed up against the door of the arena, still trying to figure out a way on how she could get herself out of this. It really sucked that she couldn’t fight nor defend herself. If she just wasn’t a damn Princess, then this whole thing would’ve gone completely different! She would’ve beaten this Alice girl minutes ago.

The sounds of motorcycles turning on caught Natalya’s attention. So she was right. The showcase was about to begin and she was late. Though based on the way she was stuck there on the door with no way to escape and Alice, glaring down at her with her magic in her hands…

…She was in danger.

Inside, all of the men had been lined up on their motorcycles for the first part of the showcase - which was a race against the classes. First up had been the first years vs. the second years in their teams. This meaning that Alfred was part of it. 

Alfred had still kept his eyes focused on the audience when he had climbed onto his bike. Still, she wasn’t there. Anytime he did glance up, he could just see his father too glaring right at him with his arms crossed. Could he catch a break for once? He didn’t care about the showcase and the fact that his family was watching him… His mind was completely up in the air now that he wasn’t able to see his girlfriend at all in the audience. 

Where the heck is she? She couldn’t have gotten lost, no way. 

“Yo, you good?” Gilbert approached the other male and handed over a helmet. By the concerned expression on Alfred’s face, it revealed that no, he wasn’t okay at all,Alfred seemed to be completely out of focus, which he had sighed and placed the helmet on top of Alfred’s head to get him to snap out of it. The sounds of cheering could be heard from the audience seeing that the men were beginning to line up, which Gilbert knew he had to get Alfred to snap out of it, “Hey man, I’m sure Natalya will show up at some point.” 

…Truthfully, Gilbert had no idea where Natalya was either. He only said this in hopes that it was the case and she was just running late. With a nod of agreement, Alfred had climbed onto his bike now and started it up. There was no time for distractions or messing around. With climbing onto the bike, Alfred had waited for his team to get ready before they all drove to the starting line of the track set in the arena.

Cheering could be heard from the stands from the audience who were all excited to see the students about to participate in the first performance. The headmaster of the school had been holding onto a microphone before speaking to give the audience an idea as to what was going on.

“Thank you, thank you all,” The headmaster had been standing on top of a podium; a smile brought to his face as he waved the audience that had been in the arena, “Now, it is with great honor that I present to you the first and second-year class of the University of Heroics and Bravery. These men have worked hard since the fall semester to prepare this show for you, so please, give them a welcome hand and support in the form of a race.”

Clapping could be heard once again from the audience after the headmaster had given his introduction to the showcase. All men were lined up in front of the starting line. Alfred however, despite already being ready to go, his mind was still lost in worry and confusion. 

Within seconds, the sound of a gunshot was made. It was that one gunshot that was enough to have all the male students one by one, hit the acceleration of their bikes. It was quick, but within seconds, they were all beginning to make their way around the track. The race would only take place in three laps, but this was to mainly show off the skills that they all had when it came to riding their motorcycles.

Even if she wasn’t there, Alfred kept his focus up ahead. He dodged whenever passing one of his peers, keeping in mind what Natalya had told him earlier. Just focus on doing his best. If he messed up, that was fine. Nothing bad would happen… But with his father glaring at him, all he worried was that the stares were coming from the royal family would be enough to hint to Natalya, when she did show up, that he had an affiliation with them. Maybe he was overthinking it. His eyes focused on ahead now, and one by one, he had passed his peers that were participating. Before he had even realized it, he was in first place during the second lap of the race. If Alfred looked for a second, he swore he could see his father smiling.

Good, at least things seemed to be going well so far…

…Until the doors of the arena had exploded open.

The bikes on the track had immediately came to a halt the second the explosion was heard. All of the men and turned to face the entrance of the arena that had been wide open; smoke from the dirt on the ground filling the area which made it hard to see what was going on. The audience had stopped cheering when this had happened. Instead, people in their seats began to lean over and look at the door to see if there was something going on.

The issue was that this hadn’t been part of the show. 

The smoke cleared within a few seconds of the silence. When it did, everyone had been greeted to the sight of a fairy in midair; magic radiating all around her as her expression showed that she was angry. 

Though just across from her, another woman was flying from the door and managed to hit the wall of the arena. This hit had been so loud that everyone had gasped seeing what looked to be a young woman stuck and panting heavily in pain. Where she was once stuck on the wall, soon, her body had fallen straight to the ground with a loud thud.

The first person to have noticed who exactly the woman was, well, in the audience.

“ _NATALYA?!”_

Florentyna choked on her food and threw her popcorn to the ground as she stood up, shouting at the sight of what she was seeing. Her eyes were widened in horror while standing there, indeed feeling her face become concerned seeing that powerful hit. And it looked painful. 

The worst part of it all was that once Natalya hit the ground, she wasn’t getting up.

Even if she wasn’t getting up, it didn’t stop Alice from flying in and glaring right at the blonde. She could see Natalya stumbling and attempting to get up… But the thing was, it was painful. Everywhere around her body radiated in pain when she moved. She didn’t even realize that Alice’s attack at her being trapped had been enough to blast her through the door and directly into one of the walls of the arena.

All it took was for Florentyna’s scream to have the audience begin to worry as well.

“NATALYA!?” All of the girls, Mei, Monika, and Tatyana had said in unison when hearing what Florentyna was saying. 

Indeed, she was correct. It was Natalya on the ground who had seemed to take a major hit. Despite how painful it looked, it didn’t stop her from attempting to get up from the ground. 

It took her a moment, but Natalya was indeed startled from the attack. Her entire body hurt, but she looked right up at Alice who was once again staring down at her. She didn’t care about the fairy, but more or less, the fact that they were now in the arena… And everyone was staring at her. 

Oh no.

The headmistresses of Lenfia and the Tower of the Dead had stood up from their seats upon seeing the sight of the injured fairy on the arena ground. Radella especially, felt her heart drop when realizing that it was indeed one of her students. What was more concerning though was the fact that when she got up, everyone was cheering. It was absolutely inappropriate, but it showed that she wasn’t that injured to the point where she couldn’t get up. And the fact that she wasn’t in her fairy form either… 

What was going on? Who was attacking her, and why?”

_“Hey, isn’t that Princess Alice?"_

_“What is she doing attacking that girl?”_

_“That’s Prince Alfred’s fiancée!”_

Voices in questions came from the audience when people began to recognize who the fairy that was lingering over Natalya was. The voices didn’t phase Alice at all. Oh no, she wasn’t done yet. When she had decided that she was going to ruin this girl’s life in addition to teaching her a lesson on having relations with an engaged man, she was going to do it properly. And publicly so everyone would see.

These words managed to catch up to the group of fairies that were sitting in the audience. Mei blinked for a moment and stared at Alfred, who seemed absolutely horrified on the spot, “…Prince Alfred?”

“Fiancée?….” Florentyna whispered to herself in confusion. What? When was that decided? She thought everyone had known that Alfred was a Prince… It just was never discussed since it was never important. But the mentioning of a fiancée was completely new to her. Anger immediately began to form on her face as she jumped down from her spot, using her magic to float her to the first row of the audience before screaming out, “ _EX-FUCKING-CUSE ME!_ ALFRED JONES, YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!”

“Florentyna!” Tatyana had followed just behind the fairy and grasped onto her arms; pulling her back from jumping into the arena. Florentyna looked angry. Most angry than she’s ever been at anyone. This was just as a surprise as it was for her, but she was more surprised at the mentioning of Alfred being called a Prince. 

The screaming that came from Florentyna had Alfred removed his helmet on. Everything at that moment, he felt his heart sink to the ground. When he had told himself that entire time there was nothing he needed to worry about, now, he had a huge reason to worry. Florentyna looked like she was about to kill him, Natalya wasn’t in good shape, and his father was staring at him as if he had done something. 

And he did. He messed up big time.

Alice had lowered herself to the ground. Everyone had continued to watch what she was doing, expecting her to use her magic… But it was completely different. Instead, the woman had approached Natalya who had been stumbling from the hit, now swinging her leg to hit Natalya directly in the chest.

Gasps filled the audience as this one hit was enough to have Natalya flying back against the wall once more. A loud cough came from Natalya when this had happened, which was when she had reached over and wiped her mouth to notice a bit of blood. She panted softly, forcing herself to get up once more until Alice had come back with another attack. This time, lifting her leg up to kick Natalya’s back straight to the ground. 

Pain filled her body once more as Natalya let out a cry of pain; her face being met with the ground. Alice’s foot was on top of her back, making sure she was restrained and kept in place so she wouldn’t move. Instead of giving another attack, Alice glared right at Alfred’s direction; anger filled on her expression before shouting, “What are you going to do!?” She called out to him; a crazed look on her expression, “You are such a lying bastard… So I’m going to make sure you pay by making sure the one you love is punished.”

She was trying to get him to crack. Alfred stood his distance, feeling his heart beginning to beat out of his chest out of anxiety of what was going on. No… Alice found out. His one nightmare and one of the biggest secrets he had kept from his family… Let alone, one of the biggest secrets that he had been keeping from Natalya was being exposed. If he ran up and tried to defend Natalya, everything was done for. 

The entire magical dimension was watching this scene. One move he went for Natalya, all the secrets would come out.

The thing was - the more Natalya was in pain, the more it would give for Alfred to crack.

Alice had been pressing the heel of her foot into Natalya’s back. What sounded like another pained cry came from the woman underneath her as the glare between Alice and Alfred was intense. It was as if an intense battle was taking place between both of them with no contact being made. 

He didn’t give in yet. Alice reached down and grabbed Natalya by the hair, pulling her up and doing the one thing that one had been expecting her to do. There was one hand wrapped around the woman’s neck in a position that if she gave one twist to Natalya’s neck…

…she’d drop dead.

“Fine,” Alice spoke up, her tight grip around Natalya’s neck as her eyes were widened in horror as to what was going on. The stare was still intense between Alfred and Alice, but making that one threatening move had Alfred’s heart drop, “If you don’t want to fess up about having relations with this human girl,” Her grip tightened, “I’ll make sure you never have her again—“

Anger was built upon Alfred’s face. All it took was for those words for him to immediately grab onto his sword on his belt, pull it out quickly and rush over to grab Alice’s arm and force her hold on Natalya to let go. He didn’t care anymore at this point. Alice’s anger was directed at him and she was taking it out on the one thing that brought a sense of light to his life. The second he had forced her to let go of Natalya, he had grabbed Alice and thrown her away from the area while he had held onto Natalya to make sure she didn’t hit the ground. 

He slowly laid Natalya down onto the ground and stood in front of her. The sword was still in his arms as it was pointed at Alice, as if he were defending Natalya then and there from the other making any more attacks.

Him making that one stunt was enough to confirm exactly what Alice had said. But he didn’t care anymore as the shouting and screaming came from the audience in questioning. 

“ _So it must be true!”_

_“The prince does have relations with that girl!”_

_“He cheated on his fiancée! How shameful!”_

Exactly how she had planned it out. Alice had a smirk on her face, indeed believing that this was the best way to call out a liar such as Alfred… Not telling his family, not telling her, and the best part; not even telling his lover that he was an engaged man. 

Alfred was furious. Absolutely beyond furious that Alice had decided to pull a stunt on him like this. The thing was that he originally thought that she was a nice girl. The thing was that she wasn’t the one for him. And he had expressed this to his father so many times that Alice isn’t the one he wanted. She was nice at first, but she complained. She complained about everything and was just like any standard royal that he knew. 

And he was ashamed to be royalty. Alfred never wanted this life, but he was born into it and had to face it. The only reason why he avoided bringing this life up around his friends and Natalya was that he didn’t want to be seen as a royal. He wanted to be seen as himself. A young man wanting to become a hero. 

And of course, Alice had to be the one to try and ruin everything for him.

“… _Alfred_ …”

His ears had been met with a voice underneath him. Turning his eyes down, Alfred had seen that Natalya was indeed conscious. She looked like she was in pain, but she was awake and responsive. The thing was that she didn’t seem happy at all… If anything, she seemed to be just as shocked as he was.

And it was his fault.

But instead of getting lashed out by her there, instead, he was greeted by something else. Natalya had reached over and placed a hand on his leg, grasping onto it for a moment, “…help me up, you dick…”

She was angry. On the inside, she couldn’t believe everything that she was hearing… But it was pointless to get angry and upset at him now. Instead, Alfred looked at the woman in shock to see how responsive she was being after taking all of those hits, but he agreed. He reached down, holding a hand to help her up. Natalya grasped onto it with a tight grip, taking in a breath before using it to pull herself up with the little strength she had. 

Disgust immediately filled Alice’s expression when she saw that Natalya was up. That was impossible… How was she standing up like that? She looked like she could drop at any second, which she was going to make sure of that. Bright magic began to form in the palms of her hands at the sight of this as anger built up on her expression, “WHAT?!”

Alice’s frustrating tone didn’t phase Natalya at all. Instead, she had taken a step forward and stood in front of Alfred. While her eyes showed pain and the way she held onto herself showed she wasn’t in good shape, that didn’t stop her from smiling at the other innocently and speaking, “…Come on, show me what you got, brat.”

A loud, frustrated scream came from Alice out of anger when seeing how calm Natalya was being. The second she heard that sentence, orbs of magic came flying at Natalya and Alfred’s direction out of anger. Alfred had been just about to step in front of Natalya when seeing this, but something had beat him to it.

A barrier within seconds had formed around the couple. In the audience, no one had been expecting to see this at all. It had been a barrier that with one hit of the magic that Alice had sent, it had burst into flames and disintegrated into the air. Alice’s eyes widened upon seeing what was going on.

“I-I don’t understand-“ She began in confusion, now using her magic to launch another attack right again at Natalya. Again, the same response was met with her magic fading into thin air the second it had made contact with the barrier, “H-How!?”

There was silence that came from Natalya. Instead of answering the question, she had taken in a deep breath and placed her hand on her side where she felt the most pain, “… _Heal_.” She whispered an enchantment, this being enough to heal the pain that was going on in her body. She knew that she would be bruised up, but there was something about Alice that now she got themselves in this arena…

…Natalya was motivated to get her revenge. 

With a shaky breath, Natalya closed her eyes and focused. It was as if all senses to her powers had been kicking into full gear with her instincts. That once she had managed to gather herself, she stepped out of the barrier that was protecting her and Alfred. Her hands were balled into fists, that by the time she had opened her eyes to look at Alice - they were full of light.

“ _It’s a dangerous game to go against the powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice.”_

A burst of magic had filled the arena coming right from Natalya’s direction. It had not only the men in the arena flying off, but Alfred had grasped onto something so he wouldn’t fly back while Alice had gone flying to the wall opposite of her. Light-filled around Natalya, and without even having to say the enchantment to transform herself, her powers had already done so for her.

Stepping out of the light, her entire appearance had changed. What was once a girl wearing normal clothing had turned into a beautiful one with wings grown to her back, the familiar blue sparkling outfit, in addition to the tiara on her curled hair. 

Her conscious had no idea what she was doing. It was as if her powers had taken over her mind for a moment to get her to unleash this power… And then what she said, the dragon flame and heart of ice… Why did she say that? Why did it come out of her mouth randomly? Natalya had no idea. But what she did know was that she was furious.

And she was going to make sure Alice paid for what she did.

Flames in different shades of red and white had formed around Natalya’s body. With her hands balled into fists, a bright light had begun to radiate from her body. It showed magical energy coming from her that for the ones who stared in the audience, they had to shield their eyes at how powerful the energy was.

Her brief sentence about the dragon flame and heart of ice wasn’t dismissed by everyone in the audience. Many couldn’t hear her, but for the headmistresses who were seated in their chairs…. They were absolutely shocked. Radella even, whose eyes were widened in horror, caught that. She couldn’t believe it. Why did Natalya say that? Only the true guardian of those powers would speak of it…

…unless all of her suspicions were confirmed then and there about the girl.

Alice stared with fear drawn to her eyes at the sight of what had happened with the girl. This girl wasn’t just any ordinary girl… She was a fairy too! A fairy that radiated strong, powerful energy that seemed like something it shouldn’t be messed with at all. She had flown up into the air, but that seemed to be a big mistake.

Just flying into the air, a bolt of fire had gone straight in her direction. And Natalya hadn’t even been sending the attack. It was as if she were trying to keep Alice still. Any movement that Alice made, she would be met with a firing attack right in her direction. 

Natalya had been midair now. Her eyes continued to glow of power as she glared right down at Alice; before soon feeling her body beginning to scrunch up. Her knees and arms had been brought to her chest, almost as if she were trying to capture as much of her power as she could to prepare a huge attack. She was very pissed. Very pissed that if someone tried stopping her, it would’ve been a bad idea all around. 

The thing was for Radella, someone _had_ to stop her. If this was the true powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice that was about to be unleashed from this fairy, she could accidentally wipe out half of that stadium. And if she was correct about her suspicions, that meant Natalya was one of the most powerful creatures in that entire dimension. 

When she had straightened her body out, a creature around her began to form around Natalya’s body. Two creatures, large with glowing eyes with one of them in flames and the other in the form of ice, were beside the girl as if it were protecting her. These creatures may have looked like flames, but it was her magical energy. 

And slowly, Natalya rose her hand in the direction of Alice.

“I do not know who you are. I do not care what you are.” Natalya’s voice was loud in clear, almost as if everyone in that arena was in the presence of a powerful figure. Alfred had even stumbled back to the ground, absolutely shocked from what he was seeing from his girlfriend, nonetheless, “But what I do know is that you are _nothing._ You dare attack and try to defy my powers. And for that, you will be punished appropriately as ruler of this dimension.”

All of these words were coming out instinctively now. It was as if Natalya weren’t there consciously anymore. It wasn’t her talking at all. Instead, it was her powers talking on her behalf. The powers defending her when their host was being attacked. The thing was, her powers were going to make sure Alice paid in a form of debt to her.

“ _Powerous revokerous, suspend her powers until she proves a good heart!_ ”

Magic had gone flying down in the direction of where Alice was. What sounded like a horrific scream came from Alice when the spell was cast while gasps came from the audience.

“That’s a guardian fairy spell-“ Radella had shot up from her seat and reached for her phone. The authorities needed to be there. It was the lost Princess. Natalya was the lost Princess, she was fully convinced now at that point, “She can’t do that! That’s an impossible spell for her level-!”

There was no damage given to Alice. Instead of casting a spell that would hurt Alice, her powers had done one of the most painful things that it could do for a fairy… And that suspended her powers as a punishment. Alice’s fairy form had disappeared entirely. By the time the bright light had disappeared, she was back in the original gown she had worn for the event.

Her eyes were widened in horror. Absolute horror that she thought Natalya was going to take her out in one blow… But instead, she cast a spell on her that would serve as a punishment for hurting her.

A hand was brought to her head after the spell was cast. Even if she had no idea what she just said or did, anytime she conducted spells, it made her exhausted. Let alone, her body was already in enough pain from Alice’s beating from before. It still didn’t neglect the fact though that she had no idea she could use that kind of magic on another fairy. Natalya was simply so angry to the point where she simply allowed her powers to take over her mind for that second. 

Her powers deciding to choose a fate for Alice until she can prove herself worthy of having her powers once more. 

Even if she had no idea what was going on with her internally, what didn’t help was the fact that people in the audience were still talking.

_“Did everyone just see that?”_

_“That fairy is crazy powerful!”_

_“Who is she?!”_

_“Isn’t she that girl from earth? Fairies don’t exist on earth though!”_

Natalya had to cover her ears when hearing all of this talking. Due to this, she had slowly lowered herself to the ground and stood there while her eyes watered up. What was all of this talk about the dragon flame? Heart of ice? She was panicking. She wanted to get revenge on Alice for hurting her, but she didn’t expect for her instincts to kick in and do such a powerful spell that would make sure it revoked Alice’s powers. This was all completely new to her. It was almost as if she discovered something that she never imagined having any affiliation in. 

The behavior that she was presenting herself in was enough to catch Alfred’s attention. Despite being stumbled onto the ground in shock, he had quickly picked himself up and rushed over to the girl. She needed him. He didn’t care if anyone was watching. All he needed to do was do the exact same thing that Natalya did when he came to see her… And that provided comfort.

Without any sort of hesitation, he grabbed her and pulled her into in a close embrace. There was silence from him as he held onto her tightly, but to show that admiration and comfort he needed; he slowly shushed her and ran his fingers through her hair. The sudden gesture was unexpected to Natalya, yes, but she found herself slowly begin to calm down and get back to her original calm composure from before. 

“It’s okay now,” Alfred had whispered into her ear while still holding onto her tightly, “Calm down, Nat. She won’t hurt you anymore.” 

Even if Alfred was in the middle of comforting the girl, that didn’t stop the media from blowing up in the arena. This wasn’t good at all. Going for Natalya when Alice was close to actually killing her, to comforting her… Everything was confirmed then and there about who she was to him. Just behind the screaming of the audience, Alfred swore he could hear his father yelling at him to get away from that girl, while his mother was trying to calm the other down.

The truth was coming out with no words having to be said. It was all based on the actions being made by Alfred then and there. The Prince of Eraqion was having affiliations with a girl that no one knew about. This was why he didn’t tell his family… His family the truth about how he fell in love with this girl.

“ _It is true, the prince does have relations with that girl!”_

_“Who is she? How long have they been together?”_

Hearing the voices now managed to get Natalya back into a proper, calm thinking state. She stood there in silence now and looked at the other who had been hiding his face in shame and holding her in a tight embrace. So all of this nonsense of Alice screaming at her about having relations with her fiancee… A prince… 

It was true? 

Her expression softened now and soon she took a step back; glancing at Alfred as he looked at her with a panicked face. 

_“_ YOU’RE A _PRINCE!?”_ Were the first words that came from her mouth; practically shouting it at the top of her lungs. Uh no, now he was in trouble. There wasn’t any magic coming from Natalya since now she could control her behavior. She wasn’t as pissed as she was before thanks to taking her anger out on Alice… But now that she realized Alfred was lying to her? “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me anything sooner! You could have told me that apparently you’re some sort of big figure in this damn dimension!”

The fact that she had to snap at him now when she was in this much pain. She was scared for herself, but her anger took over her mind to the point where she couldn’t even focus on how her body was feeling. Alfred didn’t say anything though. All he did was let the girl run her mouth off at him. Yeah, it was a terrible way to find out… Especially with an audience surrounding them being exposed to the fact that the kingdom of Eraqion’s prince lied to a girl. 

He wasn’t going to defend himself. No way, he didn’t deserve to. Natalya had the right to scream at him.

“I thought we always told each other shit, Alfred!” The woman continued on and on before approaching him and grabbing him by the shoulder, tightly. She was going to give a piece of her mind, “Why? You could have told me!”

“…I didn’t want you to see me differently than I am, Nat.” The man’s voice was quiet when he spoke to her. This resulted in her expression to soften. He… Lied because he didn’t want her to see him differently? “I was going to tell you tonight… I was afraid. I was afraid that you would get scared off because of me being a Prince.”

Natalya groaned loudly in annoyance and frustration. Just hearing that response angered her more,“Who the fuck cares if you’re a prince?” What upset her was the fact that he _thought_ she’d be afraid of him if he was a prince. Sure, she would be a bit intimidated since she had no royal blood in her at all… But regardless, something such as that didn’t matter to her. 

If one were to be looking closely, it was almost as if steam was coming out of her ears in anger. She had pulled her hand back and looked at him. All he could do right now was simply keep his head down; avoiding eye contact with her since he knew he fucked up. And she sure as hell wanted to make sure that he felt the guilt for lying to her. 

“I’m sorry you had to learn it this way. I’m sorry this happened to you. It’s all my fault, and you don’t deserve it at all. I did it because I care about you, I don’t want to lose you, Natalya. I didn’t want you to see me any differently than I am now,” Alfred admitted as a follow-up to his explanation. This resulted in her going immediately silent. He lied… Because he cared about her? She already knew that he cared for and loved her, but lying was something that no one should ever do to a partner. It was then that he lowered his tone to a whisper and leaned to her ear. The stares were still coming from the audience, which he knew it wasn’t a good time to talk about it now, “Listen, I’ll explain everything properly. Right now, you need to get out of here. I don’t want you to be pulled into my mess.” 

What mess? All she had to do was look up upon seeing thousands of cameras flashing at her. Her eyes widened and she shielded her eyes immediately from the sight since well, that was probably what he meant. So with a nod, she looked at him with an expression that said, ‘Call me as soon as you can’ before jumping into the air and remaining mid-air with her wings.

_“The mysterious fairy is escaping!”_

_“Who is she? She seems so powerful yet none of us know her!”_

“Shut up!” Natalya had snapped at the cameras, clearly angered by the sight of it. Everyone had gasped at her behavior, which indeed was not expected from a fairy like her, “This is our mess! Leave me alone!” Did she care if anyone reacted to that? Not at all. It was the truth, it was her and Alfred’s business to handle, and if people talked…

…Gosh, the one thing she absolutely despised was when people talked about her.

“ _According to outside sources, the fairy’s name is Natalya Arlovskaya. A fairy from earth who’s a first-year at Lenfia College for fairies,_ ” One woman had been speaking into a microphone with a camera in front of her, “ _Witnesses also say that she doesn’t even know her true powers either. She came here to Magix to discover why she’s a fairy in the first place… But so far, it seems that all she’s managed to do was have relations with an engaged prince. We’ll have more details later on._ ” 

So _that’s_ what Alfred had been referring to. Great, now she was going to be known as the fairy who had a secret relationship with an engaged Prince. But it wasn’t even her fault! She didn’t even know that he was an engaged man in the first place. One thing that extremely bothered her though was the fact that the publicity was surrounding her.

This managed to catch the headmistress of the college for the fairy’s attention. All of this publicity for something unexpected; the girl must have been horrified out of her mind. Especially after saying those words out loud about the dragon flame and heart of ice, Natalya must have been even more horrified. 

She had to talk to Natalya once they were on campus. This was a bigger issue at hand than it seemed.

_“Don’t worry headmistress!”_

A small tap was placed onto Radella’s shoulder as the horror remained on her expression By just turning around, she had been exposed to seeing Florentyna, Mei, Monika, and Tatyana all in their fairy forms… Since when did they transform? 

“We’ll bring her back to Lenfia,” Mei reassured their headmistress,“We’re all just confused as you are. Please, let us handle it.” 

There was a small sigh that came from Radella. Maybe this wasn’t her place to step in. Natalya seemed to have been going through so much, that she needed the support of her friends right now. She nodded, giving permission for the girls to go retrieve Natalya, “Go. Get out of here.”

And with that, the four fairies jumped into the air and made their way over to the more startling fairy who honestly looked like she was about to faint. If she did, she had every right to do so too. 

“Come on, Natalya,” Tatyana had flown over to her friend and took her hand, beginning to lead her out of the arena that was already becoming chaotic with the reporters now asking questions to other people, “Let’s get out of here and go get some ice cream, yeah?” 

The voice of her friend had Natalya turn around to be greeted to the sight of everyone. She felt her heart sink. If there was one thing she needed, it was to see her friends. Florentyna and Tatyana had been the ones to fly over and grab onto the girl’s arms to guide her in the direction of the exit, “Oh hell’ yes!” Florentyna nodded in agreement. The entire time though, Natalya had found herself staring at Alfred with a confused and saddened expression, which pained the main truthfully, “Let’s try to forget this, okay? Don’t worry about it, you’re going to be okay.”

Natalya appreciated her friends' help with trying to make her leave… But how was she supposed to feel okay after all that had happened? So when flying away with them, she had kept her head down; trying to put together the pieces of what was going on. She was silent now. 

All she could just think about is if she thought finding out that she was adopted was bad, today’s events were ten times worse.

_“Headmistress Radella, headmistress of Lenfia College!”_

The same reporter who had been speaking in front of the camera operator earlier approached the older woman who was currently being escorted out of the arena. Radella glared right in the direction of where the voice was coming, clearly not happy about the situation at all, “Is it true that Natalya Arlovskaya is your student? If so, what is her ranking? What are her powers?” 

The exhibition itself was already over. Everyone had begun to leave, which was why Radella wanted to get out of there with the rest of the students as quickly as she could. But with being stopped by reporters, she tried her best to ignore them.

“No comment,” Radella began, leading the younger fairies towards the exit of the arena while ignoring the other questions that came to her from behind. 

“But headmistress!” Another reporter had begun and held a microphone out to her, “Sources say that this fairy doesn’t even know her true powers! She mentioned the dragon flame and heart of ice - but we haven’t heard this in years since the tragedy of the royal family! Who is she? We need to know to make sure she isn’t dangerous with the Prince of Eraqion.” 

Dangerous? Radella’s eyes widened as she shot a glare right at the reporter; anger filled on her expression now. No, Natalya was dangerous. Everyone was simply startled and attempting to take this out of proportion when it didn’t have to be, “She isn’t dangerous,” Radella had snapped at the comment almost instinctively. For some strange reason, she had been really worried about Natalya. The first couple of days at the school when she arrived, she didn’t know much about her… But now being the one to see her grow and develop as a fairy, there was some sort of connection she had with the child. 

The woman held her hands out as magic formed; a lens cap covering the camera so it wasn’t on her. She lowered the microphone that was near her face and stared at the reporter; her frown visible. It was true; she believed that Natalya wasn’t dangerous at all. The media had been just twisting lies and false statements from bystanders to make it seem like it was true.

“… _She’s innocent just like the rest of her family.”_

* * *

_“'She’s innocent just like the rest of her family'?!”_

A loud voice had filled the headmistress’ office. Radella had been sitting at her desk’s chair with a cup of tea in hand while she took a sip out of it.

Due to the events that happened at the University of Heroics and Bravery, the media was surrounding Lenfia College consistently wanting to get more information about the girl that the prince of Eraqion was having relations with. And since she was responsible for all students at Lenfia, naturally, the media wanted answers from her. 

Headmistress Evannora had been pacing back and forth in the office while the professors of Lenfia College and the headmaster of UHB had been seated in their chairs. This had become an emergency for them. 

The emergency meeting was called only three hours after the event at UHB. Due to the fact that Natalya had said the words instinctively about the powers that once belonged to the royal family of the magical dimension, all authorities in the magic dimension were alarmed. Some members believed Natalya should be taken in for questioning of her powers, while others believed that she really wasn’t the true, lost Princess. As each of the leaders of the schools once had been the sole guardians of protecting the royal family, they were just as concerned with Natalya as they evaluated her. 

“Radella, what the hell were you thinking?” Evanora had continued and slammed her fists against the older woman’s desk. Radella was unphased by this and simply glared at the woman, waiting for an explanation on what she did wrong, “What we’ve been discussing in private about the girl is nothing that the media needs to know. Thanks to you and your loud mouth, they’re never going to leave her alone after she blurted out about the dragon flame and heart of ice. They want to know who she is and why she knows about those powers!” 

“Calm yourself, Evanora,” The headmaster of UHB, Elijah had soon spoken out. The interruption was enough to get the witch to sigh in frustration before proceeding to stomp back to her seat and sit down, “If what we heard correctly from the girl is true… Perhaps Radella’s concerns were right. We aren’t here to discuss the media. We’re here to discuss the girl.”

“And what about the girl?” Evanora scoffed and sat up a bit in her chair, “That she may be the lost daughter of King Viktor and Queen Alyona!?” This resulted in crazed laughter to come from her. But with there being no response by the other leaders of the schools and the professors not saying anything, it meant that she was right, “Listen, the royal family is dead. None of their children could’ve survived the attack years ago. Are you suggesting that Natasha is alive?” 

“Yes, Evanora,” Radella lowered her cup and took in a deep breath now. Followed by this, she stood up and proceeded to walk towards the window that gave a view of the school’s campus. Just outside, there were cameras and media stations outside of the campus gate that had been locked. There were students active on campus, but it seemed that a lot had been concerned about what was going on.

Radella took in a sigh seeing this sight. What a great way to start off the new semester… All with panic. She turned her head over to the faculty and leaders of the schools before beginning her explanation on how she came to the conclusion, “Queen Alyona was one of my close friends… Well, I would consider her a sister at this point, which was why she bestowed me as Natasha’s godmother.” 

She turned her heel now to begin pacing back and forth. As she said this, she collected her thoughts from throughout the last few months, “I was there at the ceremony when Viktor announced Natasha’s birth. I was also there when the attack on Sparx occurred. Before Alyona had run off with her children, she told me to not worry about Natasha and focus on Yekaterina and Ivan. I was confused, but I trusted her… I had no idea what she did with her. All I know was that she wanted to make sure these ancestral witches wouldn’t find the children… By the time I found Yekaterina and Ivan, the witches had already captured them. So I assumed they had gotten Natasha too.”

This statement got the room silent. See, now everything was beginning to make sense about the girl the entire group had been concerned about. 

“What fairy from earth would know about the dragon flame and heart of ice?” She turned her head over, mainly to Evanora to get her inquiry about the situation at hand, “Magic hasn’t existed on earth in centuries. So when this girl suddenly shows up saying that she has powers and is from earth, it doesn’t make sense. She begins having these dreams with Alyona in them, she begins doing research about Sparx and the dragon flame and heart of ice… Then to top it all off, she also finds out she’s adopted. It all makes sense.”

“Radella, if I may…” One of the professors had spoken out. The woman glanced over at the other and rose a brow; genuinely curious about what Professor Polonium; the faculty advisor for training fairies in the outside world, had to say, “She’s only seventeen. Seventeen years ago was when the royal Braginsky family was attacked. You can’t just tell her everything now when she’s in such a tense state,”  


“I agree,” Elijah looked at the professor with a nod, “You don’t plan on telling her, do you?”

“Absolutely not,” Radella shook her head and snapped her fingers. It was there that a book appeared in front of the group. 

All she had to do was wave her hand until it had arrived on a particular page. On this page, it had revealed the royal family that once was together many years ago. The Queen in the image had been carrying an infant, followed by a young boy and a young girl beside her with her husband. 

The children of the royal family were so loved… The eldest child Yekaterina, the middle child Ivan, and then baby Natasha. Oh, how she missed them all so much. She knew that Yekaterina and Ivan were alive somewhere and were together. But if she could help their little sister discover who she truly was, then maybe there was a chance of the royal family returning. 

“This is a journey of self-discovery for herself…. However,” Radella began and reached over to take the image out of the book. She looked at it now; closely examining it before turning to the rest of the group, “We need to protect that child as much as we can.”

If Natalya was the long lost princess of the magical dimension, they had to protect her at all costs. The ancestral witches still reside on what once was Sparx. There was also the fact that the witches that Evanora had suspended from her school were after a source of great power. 

Any dark force would be eager to find the dragon flame and heart of ice, take it, and eliminate the source of it. 

What if they were to go after Natalya? The second these creatures of the dark were to go after her, chaos could ensue once again. She could be the lost princess, which also proposed a chance of her being the most powerful fairy in the entire universe. 

“We cannot let anyone touch her or get close to her,” Radella continued, “Once the media is gone, we all need to keep an eye on her. I’ll be enforcing security at Lenfia’s gates… or else dark forces could go after Viktor and Alyona’s only surviving hope for the dragon flame and heart of ice.” There was a small sigh before she looked down.

_“I can only hope Natalya awakens as the Princess soon.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was an intense chapter, wasn't it? 
> 
> Please just as a side note: if you are a Fem!England/Alice stan, I am so sorry you had to experience reading that. Later on the story, she does serve a purpose aside from being the "jealous rival" character. I promise I don't hate her aosijfoajdsfoisdasdfs--
> 
> ANYWHOSIES - things are starting to get on fire! The next chapter is going to be just as equally as insane... And I'll give you a small hint: the witches are coming back after not being in two chapters. 
> 
> Please plan for a release of chapter 10 on 6/5/2020! I do have finals next week and I'm in a gaming tournament next weekend, so I won't be able to work on the next chapter. In addition, as I'm typing this, my laptop broke. I am having it sent in for repairs, which could take up to a week... Which means I won't have a lot of time to write. But once I'm all done, you bet I'm going to get right to it.
> 
> Until then, see you soon! c:


	11. A Lost Princess Discovers the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Natalya was the long lost princess of the magical dimension, they had to protect her at all costs. The ancestral witches still reside on what once was Sparx. There was also the fact that the witches that Evanora had suspended from her school were after a source of great power.
> 
> Any dark force would be eager to find the dragon flame and heart of ice, take it, and eliminate the source of it.
> 
> What if they were to go after Natalya? The second these creatures of the dark were to go after her, chaos could ensue once again. She could be the lost princess, which also proposed a chance of her being the most powerful fairy in the entire universe.
> 
> “We cannot let anyone touch her or get close to her,” Radella continued, “Once the media is gone, we all need to keep an eye on her. I’ll be enforcing security at Lenfia’s gates… or else dark forces could go after Viktor and Alyona’s only surviving hope for the dragon flame and heart of ice.” There was a small sigh before she looked down.
> 
> “I can only hope Natalya awakens as the Princess soon.”

Returning to a new semester at Lenfia was expected to be one of the most exciting parts of the journey of a first-year fairy. However, the incidents at the University of Heroics and Bravery changed otherwise for those involved with the incident that had taken place. 

What was assumed to be a small situation had blown up to becoming something much bigger. From press trying to get the details of this secret relationship to students at Lenfia questioning the Earth girl involved with the scandal, it was absolutely chaotic. For Natalya, being an individual who wasn’t the type of person to enjoy being the center of attention…

…this was as if she were facing the biggest death sentence. 

Turning on the television, it discussed the royal family of Eraqion. Another television station, talking about how there was a girl from Earth attending Lenfia. Then going to classes, there would be people staring at her, whispering among themselves about how a girl like her got into the university in the first place. 

She enjoyed being ignored before. No one seemed to care about one another nor paid attention to her other than her friends, which she truly only cared about… But for her peers? It seemed that most of them were only approaching her to get the details of this apparent scandal.

The best part yet, since the incident at UHB - her phone had been blowing up. Specifically, from Alfred. 

The last thing she could ever imagine doing was talking to him. She was absolutely angry. Angry and heartbroken to the point where he kept such a huge secret from her. She, a normal girl, was dating a Prince! He was a Prince all along, with the crown and the fancy palace, and not once did he desire to tell her the truth? 

The smart part of her brain didn’t want to jump into any negative conclusion. Perhaps he was planning on telling her, she tried telling herself over and over again. But before he could get to it, it had to blow up in front of a crowd of thousands. Not only in front of her peers, but for his peers, and administrators that knew the two students. 

It had been just about a week since the incident. Nothing felt the same anymore with waking up for classes and proceeding as if nothing had happened. Outside of Lenfia’s campus, only authorized students and administrators were permitted to enter. Press would be lined up to see if they could get details from the headmistress or Natalya herself, but there was nothing nor any comment to be made.

It was a private matter. The fact that she could not get any privacy because she was in love with a Prince was making her lose her mind. And for that, resulted in Natalya to send a message to her entire suite asking to meet her at a fountain on the campus that was usually held for meetings. And there was a reason why she was asking her friends to be there and no one else.

“…So, what’s up, Natalya?” Mei had been the first to break the silence amongst the girls while Natalya had been standing there with her arms crossed. She had been sitting at the edge of the fountain, crisscrossed while in the middle of eating an apple.

The meeting was called after everyone had finished classes for the day. There were fewer students around, which made it the perfect timing for Natalya to get this feeling off of her chest. The issue was that when Mei had said this, she had turned around and sighed, “Let’s wait for Florentyna before we get into it.”

“Well, where the hell is she?” Monika responded, clearly not surprised that the other blonde hadn’t shown up at all. This was common for her. Disappearing or not showing up to meetings at all, especially if they were to be important, “If I’m about right, we’ve been waiting here for almost fifteen minutes… and she’s usually fifteen minutes late, so she should be arriving at about…now—“

_ “—I’m sorry I’m late!" _

Natalya, Tatyana, and Mei had shot a look right at Monika’s direction upon seeing the sight of the familiar blonde beginning to wander her way down towards the fountain. As per cue, Florentyna had been rushing over to the group with an iced coffee in hand, as well as a back-pack to indicate that while she did get out of class, she decided to get something to drink first. 

“I’m here, I’m here!” Florentyna gave her famous smile to the group, which didn’t seem to evoke a reaction, “Listen, I got out of class early, but I had to beat the line to get some coffee. I have the worst headache after listening to the ‘history of fairy godmothers’ for two hours straight. The best part, it has nothing to do with what I want to do as a fairy anyway—“

“…Well, I’m glad you’re here now,” Natalya muttered in interruption, which the tone of voice did catch Florentyna’s attention. It was surprising, since normally when Natalya behaved this way, it was either because she was angry or upset. 

“Nat has something important to tell us,” Tatyana explained to the other blonde while she had been standing there herself, patiently waiting the entire time for what they needed to discuss. And so, she had turned to Natalya with a reassuring smile, giving the other her full attention, “What’s wrong, dear?” 

There was a moment of silence that came from Natalya when the entire group had turned their attention to her. In all truths, she didn’t know how to start off her explanation. It was something that she had been thinking about during the past week, but couldn’t figure out how to express these thoughts without blowing up in anger. And so, she bit down on her tongue and confessed, “I… Just wanted to start off explaining that I called you all here to apologize,” She began, which indeed resulted in surprising expressions to come from the group of girls, “For everything. For… associating with me, for getting into that mess at UHB, it’s been… making me frustrated all this week.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold up,” Florentyna had placed her beverage down onto the edge of the fountain, approaching Natalya to grab her shoulders, “First of all, what happened at UHB wasn’t your fault. You were assaulted and friends have each other’s backs. Second of all, apologizing for ‘associating with you’? Are you saying you’ve been keeping us hostage? Because you’ve honestly become one of my best friends - why are you saying that’s a bad thing?” 

“I agree!” Tatyana had followed-up by approaching the two, “If anything, people associate with one another if he or she wants to. I want to associate myself with you because you’re not only my friend but a good person.”

“A good person… Yet, everyone in this school considers me a freak now,” Natalya interrupted the other, keeping her eyes on contact with everyone present to make sure she could get her point across, “That’s why… I’m thinking of leaving Lenfia.” 

“NO WAY!” Florentyna had gasped and immediately covered the other’s mouth, shaking her head in disapproval, “Nope, no way! Natalya, I will not allow that at all! Listen, I’ve caused so much trouble just last semester, yet you stood by my side and helped me get through it. So don’t you dare think I won’t do the same.” 

This was a valid point. One of the biggest struggles that Florentyna had faced that previous semester was specifically, her grades and studying. It was known that she was never the smartest test-taker or good with maintaining her assignments, but Natalya had been the one to make sure the other got her things done. Even forced her to do her work so she would be at least able to pass the first half of the first semester. 

“That’s going to be hard to do, Nat,” Mei began in agreement towards the other’s statement, still remaining in her sitting position, “Because you know all of us will tie you down and make sure you don’t. Is this because of the whole UHB situation?”

Again, silence was given by Natalya. That was enough for the group to figure out that her thoughts had escalated from the whole event, which resulted in Tatyana approaching Natalya to bring her into a tight embrace. The hug was indeed unexpected, but Tatyana had kept her grip on the girl before speaking, “Sweetheart, we’ll get through this together. Yes, this situation is… shitty, but we’ve all been there for each other in the past. You especially were there for us when we needed you, so we’ll be here to do the same for you.”

“…Are we ignoring the fact that Tatyana just swore for the first time?” Florentyna had gasped, “Or is it just me—“

“—Continuing on,” Monika interrupted the other, knowing that it was indeed a shock hearing Tatyana swear. A monumental moment, especially since she was known to never do such a thing, “Do you know how low the probability of finding a friend amazing as you are? You are like, the hero of showing that this dimension doesn’t need to rely on magic for things at all.”

They were saying all such nice things to her… Encouraging her, that it was hard for Natalya to collect her thoughts and emotions then and there. She had assumed that they would be supportive of her decision to leave, that was what friends were for… But alas, it seemed that quite the opposite had taken place, “You guys are way too nice… Really, growing up, I was the child who got into fights. I was the one who started them, and fighting at UHB was just proof that I’m not the nice girl you want to think me as. You all could get expelled for associating with me.”

“Natalya, I say this in the politest way possible,” Monika took in a breath, even she was beginning to become frustrated at this side of Natalya, “You seem to allow people to judge you from the outside, when on the inside, you’re something else. Being at this school has proven it. Not only were we destined to come to Lenfia, but you were destined to come here as a fairy. What happened at UHB wasn’t you. You got assaulted, and we did what was right and helped you out. I’m pretty sure if we were expelled, it would’ve happened already. But it looks like no faculty member has come to approach us asking for stuff.”

“…you know Monika,” Natalya looked at the other and turned her head away, “I’ve been starting to wonder what my true destiny _really_ is.” 

This situation didn’t just revolve around the incident at UHB… But everything that had led up to the beginning of that semester. Being told she was adopted, having these dreams where a woman came to her telling her she needed to ‘awaken,’ and now she was beginning to suspect that there was something more going on behind the scenes that even she couldn’t figure it out. The icing on the cake was using those words at the fight earlier that week…

…The powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice.

Then pulling a spell that she didn’t even think she could do? Towards a Princess of all people. She used a spell on that Alice girl to revoke her powers until she could prove otherwise that she could be a good fairy. A spell that only guardian fairies could only use when she was only a first-year fairy in training at Lenfia.

Something was wrong. And she was eager to figure it out.

“ _People being expelled? Why I wasn’t given a heads up at all.”_

The new voice had everyone startled in the middle of their conversation. The group of five fairies had turned around to be greeted to the sight of the familiar blonde hair and red glasses that belonged to the one woman every fairy at Lenfia had grown to become fearful of.

“Oh come on, Miss G.” Florentyna began with a small pout and crossed her arms. Seeing Glynda approach and interrupt their conversation was the last thing they all needed. Especially Natalya, where she swore she felt her heart sink at the thought of the older woman hearing what she had to say about leaving Lenfia, “We’re kind of in a middle of an important convo. Soooo… can we chat later?”

“Later as in, two minutes?” Glynda had interrupted the other, which immediately got Florentyna to silence. Instead of addressing the rest of the group, she had turned her direction to Natalya, “I’m here to see you. The headmistress wants to see you.”

“…Now?” Natalya muttered, not even wanting to think of going to see her at a time like this.

“Yes, now, Ms. Arlovskaya.” Glynda had snapped her fingers at the girl to get her moving along. The group of fairies was shocked to see that despite their conversation not being over, the head of discipline just had to interrupt it. And Glynda knew this. As she turned herself around to guide the student who was obligated to listen to the headmistress, she looked at Tatyana, Monika, Florentyna, and Mei briefly, “Don’t worry. I’ll have her back in less than half-an-hour, so you all can finish whatever you were discussing.” 

This was a bit of relief for Natalya. Good, at least Glynda didn’t hear the part of their conversation where she was thinking of leaving Lenfia for good.

The two walking away from the group had Tatyana and Mei pout, though Florentyna and Monika on the other hand, weren’t happy at all.

“Well, that’s stupid.” Florentyna sighed and sat down on the edge of the fountain. She had retrieved her beverage from before to take a sip out of it, now looking at Mei who was sitting beside you, “You really don’t think Natalya’s going to leave, right?”

“I sure hope not,” Monika glared down at the other three with her arms crossed over her chest, clearly upset at the thought of Natalya deciding to choose that route, “She’s going to have a lot of people chaining her down if she decides to leave. She’s probably one of the most historic fairies at this institution… A girl from Earth that’s a fairy! We all know the real Natalya, and she’s beating herself up way too much over this situation.”

“I agree with Monika,” Tatyana nodded with a small frown grown to her lips, clearly upset that their conversation had come to an unexpected end, “But… I also understand if she wants space.”

“What?” Florentyna glanced right at Tatyana, “You think we should leave her alone?”

Tatyana had let out a sigh, followed by giving a shrug in response, “Well… Yeah,” She began, clearly certain on what she was saying, “I may look calm most of the time, but sometimes inside my head, I have dark thoughts. And Natalya is going through something deep that maybe we can’t understand… So as her friends, we should respect and give her that time and space. We should encourage her to stay here, I don’t want her to leave… which is why I propose we show just how much we love her. During dark times, especially in your mind, having that support and love from friends is great. But also giving that distance so she can breathe is good too.” 

The conversation between the four girls had remained in front of that fountain during the duration of Natalya’s walk with Glynda. In all truths, she had no idea why she was being called to the headmistress’ office all of a sudden. Perhaps because it was towards the end of the week and the start of the weekend, so naturally, she wanted to talk about what had happened at UHB when there weren’t classes in session.

It made sense. But what was there exactly to talk about? 

It was only wasting time… Wasting time with talking to her friends, and getting goodbyes. There was a reason she asked to talk to her friends, and that was because, in addition to her decision of leaving Lenfia, she had already bought a ticket and packed a bag to go back to Earth. It was a decision she made impulsively late the previous night, but she couldn’t sleep.

She just wanted to go home.

Earth is a place where no magic exists — a place where she could calm herself down and when she was ready to return to Magix, she would be able to. But right now, magic was the last thing she wanted to think about.

Plus, she would really love the comfort of her family at this moment where she was very heartbroken. 

Natalya felt like the laughing stock of Magix. A girl who couldn’t even tell that the man she was dating was a prince… How stupid of her to think that? And she believed Alfred’s lie too since she genuinely believed him. 

The walk to the headmistress’s office did not make her emotions feel any better at all. Students were just leaving their classes for the day. While it was quieter outside, it was active on the inside of academic buildings… Which they had to go through seeing that the office was on the third floor. All Natalya could hear were the whispers about her and the kind of magic she had used during the fight. For a first-year, magic such as that wasn’t achieved until after graduating Lenfia. She was using magic that she didn’t even know how to control. It was as if it came to her naturally, which Natalya was still trying to figure out why it did. 

The walk itself was brief, no words were exchanged between Glynda or Natalya. She wondered if the Queen of Detention herself had an idea of what was going on for this meeting, but she decided not to ask. It may as well be a surprise that she figured out upon entering.

Two knocks were placed on the headmistress’s office door when the two women arrived. All it took was a brief, “Come in,” before she had been guided inside by Glynda to be greeted to a bit of a surprise. The door was closed, where a lot of eyes were placed directly at Natalya. She entered the room to see not only the headmistress herself but a few of the professors. This resulted in panic to form on the girl’s face. 

Was this it? Finally getting expelled for getting into a huge fight? In front of what seemed to be the entire administration of Lenfia College?

The fear was present in her expression now. There were no words given by Natalya, which had Radella being the one to speak up from her desk. As expected, a cup of tea was in front of her that she was in the middle of stirring some sugar into. She smiled at the girl and motioned to an empty chair in front of her, “Please Natalya, take a seat,”

Based on the calmness of the room, Natalya was able to quickly figure out that no one was mad. At least her anxieties could come to rest now as she nodded, followed by approaching the chair and taking her seat. Sitting down and giving a quick glance around the room allowed her to figure out who was exactly there. Two of her professors, the head of the discipline being Glynda, and Radella herself…

…Why were they all here? 

“How are you feeling?” The cup of tea that was in Radella’s hand was sipped from by the older woman. She stared down at the girl, the smile still present on her face. It was reassuring and relieving, but that question had made Natalya wonder if she was on the hot seat being tested. Was this a check-up? 

By her behavior, it was enough to show that she was in a very tense state. How was Natalya supposed to respond to a question like that? She wasn’t feeling great all. Quite opposite, which had her go straight into the the direct question. Better that she may as well cut to the chase and not waste any more time, “Am I in trouble?” 

The question not being answered had Radella’s brow raise just a tad. This was a change of behavior from the girl. So direct with not answering such a simple question. She didn’t argue it, since she figured the easy answer was that Natalya was indeed not doing okay. Regardless of the matter, a hint of laughter had come from the director of discipline, which was immediately was responded with a glare from Radella. Natalya in trouble? Glynda always got a kick out of those questions.

With a shake of her head, Radella smiled at the girl, “No, you’re not in trouble at all. Please don’t worry. With the incident at UHB, Princess Alice is at fault for assaulting you. There are security cameras all throughout the school and we were able to review the footage to see what happened.” She placed the cup and leaned forward towards the girl to make sure the eye contact was established, “So rest assured we aren’t mad at all. I will personally make sure no royal figure attacks one of my students ever again.”

A student… Radella thought to herself while she stared at the girl. While part of her considered Natalya a student, after all the incidents and the power this girl radiated. She still struggled to believe that there may be a potential chance this girl was her goddaughter that she swore to Alyona she would protect.

“The reason why we’ve called you in today is due to something we noticed… During the incident,” A new voice had spoken from beside her. 

Natalya’s head turned over to one of her professors that had spoken. Professor Keldan… The professor of transformations and all kinds of physical magic. What did he mean? “We wanted to ask where your experience of using convergence magic comes from. Because well… The kind of magic you used is a spell that only guardian fairies can use. A spell that only a fairy who has unlocked her enchantix form to do.”

There it was. The suspicion that Natalya had been expecting to hear at some point. It was magic she didn’t even know she could use, which resulted in uneasiness to come from her.

“What your Professor means, is,” Radella interrupted upon seeing the expression of confusion form on the girl’s face, “Is that we noticed just how powerful your magic is. We’re worried because you’re only at a level one for your training and we want to help you control it.”

Control… It? She did understand a bit where they were coming from. If she were to be completely honest, she had no idea where that burst of powerful magic came from as well. It was almost as if something in her heart had been telling her to use it. The dragon flame and heart of ice… Maybe this was her chance to see if they knew about it too. 

“We’d like to offer you training sessions to strengthen your magic,” Professor Polonium had continued with a smile to his face to reassure the girl that there was nothing to worry about, “I can show you the spells to go with your magic, Professor Keldan can assist with convergence spells, and Radella would like to monitor it all just until you become a third year.”

…Was now a bad time to mention that she planned on leaving Lenfia? No, she had to keep quiet, “I appreciate the offer,” Natalya stated as she brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, “And I accept the offer… But, there’s just one thing that I’m mainly confused about.”

This caught all of their attention now. If she was about to say what they believed she was going to say, then they knew that they would have to not only train her properly but make sure there was as much protection as there could be for her. There was suspicion already that witches from the Tower of the Dead were after her due to believing the dragon flame and heart of ice existed… Which was why everyone had to be on alert. 

Who knows, a second battle could break out from witches similar to the one years ago.

“When I had used that spell to take away Alice’s powers…” It was there that she held her hands out. Soon, a glow came from them and different sources of power had been in them. In her hand, there had been an orange flame… While in the other, there had been a white flame, “Someone had been screaming to me in my head about using the dragon flame and heart of ice… For the longest time, I thought I possessed the powers of fire and ice… But, what exactly _is_ the dragon flame and heart of ice?” 

There it is. So they were absolutely right about the magic being connected to the girl. This resulted in Radella standing up and closing her eyes to think for a moment. Did Natalya say the wrong thing, she couldn’t help but to wonder. 

“You see, Natalya…” Radella took in a deep breath and tried to put together the correct words. Natalya couldn’t know yet. She wasn’t ready and her mental state after yesterday didn’t seem to be in the right state, “We don’t know either. We were hoping you could tell us.”

Of course they all knew. Shocked expressions came from the other administrators when Radella had proposed such a question. Was she continuing the act of pretending to be unaware of the suspicion that was around her? If Natalya was really the long lost princess, and what she possessed was truly the dragon flame and heart of ice, then they should be telling her the truth. But for her safety, it had to be avoided. 

“That’s why we want to help you,” Professor Polonium interrupted so nothing more could be said by Radella. She couldn’t take the risk and tell the truth to the young fairy, “We’d like to help you discover what these powers are. So long that’s alright with you.”

So, they want to help her… Well, the more help, the merrier. Maybe these powers connected to her origins. That’s why they were concerned. They didn’t know what kind of powers Natalya had and they wanted to help her control it. 

Too bad that she was planning to leave Lenfia.

“Thank you, Professor.” Natalya had been biting down on her tongue as she was practically lying to her professors. If there was any moment where she hated herself, it was right then and there for lying, “I’ll… Do what I can to help. The more information, the better."

“Fantastic,” Glynda spoke out in response to the girl before crossing her arms, “Then we expect that you stay a bit after your classes to do a proper evaluation of your magic. Professor Polonium will be evaluating you while I’m there as your supervisor, starting tomorrow. Understood?”

A nod of understanding was given by Natalya. That was fair, but she hated lying… The issue of the matter was that if she had mentioned that she was leaving, that could stir up even more complications. One of her biggest fears being that the administration considered her… Well, weak for running away from such a silly situation that wasn’t even her fault.

But while it may have not been her fault, she was known as the girl in Magix with an extremely powerful source of magic.

The remainder of the meeting had lasted for about twenty minutes. Once they had reached their terms of agreement, that was when Natalya was given the green light about leaving. What she didn’t know was that after she had left the office was when the figures of Lenfia College had begun discussing what they had heard. 

“She needs to be monitored at all costs,” Glynda had first spoken to Radella in a serious tone, just minutes after Natalya had stepped out and closed the door to the office. 

The meeting left Radella lost. There was no confirmation yet that she could be the lost princess, which was where she was trying to place it down. Yes, she knew about the dragon flame and heart of ice. Then there were the dreams… If there was any sign that confirmed she was Natasha, perhaps even a calling of her true name - that would be enough for her. But there was still that risk of being wrong.

If it was true, then the ancestral witches’ descendants would do anything in their power to go after her and try to attack just like what happened in the past. 

“I agree,” Professor Polonium had followed-up with Glynda’s statement out of the concern for his student, “If she really is Natasha, she needs to be protected and can’t know the truth yet… For the sake of Queen Alyona and King Viktor.”

The reminders that her colleagues had given her was enough for Radella to reach her own decision as well. Natasha Braginskaya… Or as she was called on earth, Natalya Arlovskaya… The long-lost princess of the magical dimension. The one that she technically was given the title of being her godmother to make sure that the child was safe until she was strong enough to protect the dragon flame and heart of ice. 

Natalya could be her. She was a fairy adopted on Earth. No clue as to who her family was. But they couldn’t tell anyone of this yet. This was a secret that is to stay in her office and in her office at all times. Until the proper time comes, Natalya will be given the truth and hopefully can proceed onwards of her journey of not only self-discovery but to hopefully do as faith had decided when the tragic event had happened…

…which was to rescue the Kingdom of Sparx.

* * *

_I know you’re all going to hate me for doing this. But I can’t take this stress anymore._

_I’m leaving Lenfia College to figure out things on my own. Please don’t go after me nor tell the administration. I need peace after yesterday and time to figure out things between not only me and Alfred, but about myself._

_I love you all so much. You have no idea how happy I was to meet you all._

_Best,_

_Natalya._

Did she hate what she was doing? Absolutely. It wasn’t the best way to communicate with her friends that she was planning to leave… But if she tried to do it in person, she knew that they’d attempt to go after her or even convince her otherwise.

The pen and paper that she used were placed down before the letter was slipped into an envelope. All she had done next was place it down against her bed, which was already stripped from its sheets and blankets after making the decision of leaving. 

Leaving that meeting, she had no idea that there was much more going on behind the scenes than what she thought. Her mind had been in a completely different place. All her mind was focused on was picking up that suitcase that she had put together in her dorm and leave.

That was why she had to go this route. No one could know. This way, it wouldn’t be as painful as it was for her. The girls would find out with this note, and well, she hoped that they could keep her little secret away from the administrators. However, it probably wouldn’t take them long to find out seeing that she was expected to be meeting with them for this examination of her powers tomorrow. 

Natalya picked up her suitcase and approached the window of her room. With her handheld over a plant that Tatyana had given her, it had grown in size. It was a trick that Florentyna had taught her whenever she wanted to sneak off and go see Alfred. Well, in this case, what it’d be doing was helping her sneak back home. 

She sat down on its branch and held onto it tightly as it brought her to the ground. Fortunately for her, this was a time in the day where most fairies were in classes. The media seemed to have taken a break about pestering the school for questions near the gates as well, so it was the perfect time to go. 

Once she was on the ground, she gazed at the plant that looked at her almost with a sad expression. She then reached over and gently stroked it with her hand, trying to reassure it that everything would be okay. When it did calm down, she watched as it traveled back up to the window and transformed into its original self.

She was on her own. Her heels turned towards the direction of the exit where a bus had been waiting for students who wanted to go to the actual city of Magix after classes to have some fun. It was the last bus of the day, so even if someone went to go after her, that would be a bit of a difficult process. She couldn’t help but remember those good times of indeed having fun… 

…Going shopping, walking around the city, and just admiring the beauty of the presence of magic existing in what seemed to be a normal world. She thought the next time she’d be taking the bus would be with her friends. But instead, this bus would be bringing her to Magix where she’d go to a teleport station to go back to Earth. 

The trip to get to the main city was just about ten minutes - it wasn’t long at all. When she had boarded the bus, it had left immediately. The entire time she couldn’t help but think to herself what else could she do here in Magix… Yes, she loved the magical dimension, but she felt as though she didn’t belong there.

One thing that she was glad about was that Florentyna had taken her phone. Originally she thought it was a bad idea to take away her phone, but the amount of stress that it brought her seeing Alfred’s calls and texts - it had to be taken away. It may have been good for Natalya seeing that it could disconnect her contact with others in the dimension, but bad for her friends. If someone tried to get in contact with her, that’d practically be impossible unless someone decided to go after her. 

She stepped off the bus when it had reached the bus terminal. It was a bit quieter seeing that the rush hour had already passed, which gave her the chance to at least admire the city once more while she walked away from the station. It wasn’t a far walk, but anytime she passed a building she was familiar with, a piece of her heart broke.

“Everyone is so special here…” Natalya couldn’t help but murmur to herself while admiring the beautiful billboards of the members of different royal families. 

It was true. She was just a nobody here in this dimension. A nobody with weird powers that she didn’t even know.

“I’m just a nobody… Alfred’s a prince, Florentyna is a princess, Monika, Tatyana and Mei are members of noble families…” She continued to mutter; her suitcase being dragged just behind her as she said this, “And I’m just a human girl from Earth who was sleeping with an engaged prince… What a sad joke.”

What she didn’t realize was while she was muttering to herself, she had passed by the coffee shop where witches tended to socialize every Thursday. It was busy, but she made sure to keep her distance after the event that had taken place before Christmas break. No need to cause a scene similar to Mei, so she stayed off their turf.

Despite her distance being far away from the coffee shop, the figure of her head did manage to catch the attention of one woman who seemed to be in the process of waiting for a cup of coffee to be brewed. Seeing the blonde hair and familiar face that belonged to one fairy, in particular, had her stand up straight and push up her glasses. 

“ _I’ll be right back, going to the restroom._ ” 

Nebula had placed her belongings down in her seat and approached the exit of the shop quickly before she could lose sight of Natalya. What was that pixie doing there? She could be passing by, but the fact that she was by herself, all alone without her friends to defend her - it was the perfect time to go after her!

She was alone as well as the issue. Gelinda and Aviana were handling other businesses since their suspension at the Tower of the Dead, but if the two were there with her, Nebula would be able to have some back-up to corner the girl. There would be no time to stop her, but she knew what she could do - which was following her. 

Following Natalya was the best route she had decided to go as she proceeded to exit the shop, now keeping a distance away from the girl as she continued walking. Just based on observation, Nebula could see that the girl had been holding onto a suitcase… And the expression on her face seemed to show that she was upset. All she needed to figure things out was the sight of the teleport station and seeing Natalya go directly towards it.

A sly grin formed along her lips. Where was Natalya going?… There was no planet that she was from in this dimension, which meant the only place she could be traveling to outside of Magix had to be her home planet, right? 

Upon further inspection, she watched as Natalya approached a booth upon entering the station and hand over her information. Within seconds, a ticket was exchanged before what looked like a portal appeared towards her. 

_“Please step inside to be directed to planet Earth.”_

An announcer had filled the speaker of the booth to confirm that she was good to go. And with this, Natalya gave a nod of understanding before taking a few steps forward. All it took was for her to step through that portal, and within seconds, she vanished. 

From Nebula’s perspective, Natalya was gone. Gone with a suitcase in hand and a depressed expression all over her face.

* * *

_“I followed her to the station, and she went back home. Vanished.”_

_“Vanished?”_ The leader of the group of sisters slowly leaned towards the other with interest in her expression. As she listened, she took a sip out of the coffee she had purchased earlier. This news made a large grin form on her face, “So, little Natasha has given up, eh…?”

“Running away so no one could catch her…” A larger grin had appeared on Aviana’s lips while she had her arms crossed over her chest, “How marvelous…”

For the coven of sisters, this was indeed very good news to them. Natalya was all by herself, no one would be there to protect her. Especially on a place such as Earth where no magic existed? It was absolutely perfect.

When witnessing the dragon flame and heart of ice’s presence from Natalya, their motivation to go after her only grew stronger and stronger. The issue was that since the winter break had taken place, they had been suspended from the Tower of the Dead for their stunt at Lenfia’s finals. Their punishment had already come to an end, but despite this, it didn’t stop the group of witches from planning. 

The only conflict they had to go after Natalya was that there were administrators and her friends there to protect her if they went after her. But now that she was all alone, with no one there to be with her nor protect her?

This was the perfect chance to get her.

“Alright sisters, listen up,” Gelidna had stood up from her seat and finished the remainder of her drink, “ _This_ is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for. Without her damn friends in the way, Natalya is vulnerable. She’s probably stressed and heartbroken from the media going after her because of her little boyfriend, so she won’t be able to use the dragon flame or heart of ice on us that easily…” 

“So what are you suggesting?” Nebula sat up herself, already in the process of gathering her belongings by figuring that they were leaving.

Gelinda reached for her coat and slipped it on. As she waited for the other two to join her so they could leave the coffee shop, the grin on her face was actively growing and growing, “How do you ladies feel about going on vacation to Earth? She’s from Moscow, Russia. Well, Moscow…

… _Here we come._ ”

* * *

Going back home was probably one of the best decisions that she’s done in a while. Yes, she was thankful for when she did have her school breaks from Lenfia to go visit her family, but it really made a difference knowing that she didn’t have to go back to the magical dimension.

Explaining to her family though why she had left the school in the first place was probably the most stressful part of this situation. Her siblings were very concerned for her, but her father seemed to be more understanding about the situation. 

“Natya, don’t worry about it,” Vladik had spoken to his adoptive daughter while ruffling her hair. When she had first arrived at the house, her face had been covered in tears and she had tried explaining to her family why she returned… But, they didn’t seem to want to listen and were more glad that she decided to make a mature decision, “You’ve made your decision. A break is always needed once in a while.” 

Even in tough situations such as this one, her father always managed to make her feel better. Her expression began to calm down after a while, but it soon tensed up when her heart had reminded her of the pain she experienced just taking that ticket to Earth in the first place, “I hope you’re right, papa…” Natalya began, “I just don’t want you to be upset,”

“Upset?!” A woman’s voice had filled the empty space of the living room. With glancing up, Natalya had noticed her older sister from the kitchen with an apron on and carrying a tray of bread that she had just baked, “Natalya, you’ve done stupid things before, but I don’t think that this was a stupid decision. I’m actually happy you decided to make a mature decision,”

“But what about school, sestra?” Natalya questioned, “I’m pretty much a drop-out.”

“To hell with it,” Anya nodded and put the tray down before approaching the other and placing a hand on her shoulder. With an innocent smile, which was never good, Natalya looked at the other with her brows raised in confusion, “We’ll figure it out. I’ll make sure we figure it out because damn it, it’s so good that you’re motivated in your education.”

That was when a pillow was sent in the direction of both of the girls. Mainly at Anya for saying such creepy words to her younger sister, which wasn’t what their father wanted to hear.

“First of all, Anya stop scaring your sister like that,” Vadik had ordered in a strict tone, which resulted in the woman to let out a nervous chuckle since whenever their father was being serious, he could get quite scary, “Second of all… Natalya, I think taking a few days off is okay. But I want you to think about it if this is truly what you want.”

He was right… She couldn’t just drop magic all of a sudden. Since discovering her powers, her entire life has changed. Dropping from Lenfia couldn’t be at an instant, so the proposal of taking a few days to think about it while at home didn’t sound like a bad idea. 

“…Still, I feel really terrible about how I decided to do it,” In her hands, she had been holding onto a cup of hot tea while staring down at the ground. She was embarrassed, but what could she do? If she said it through words, her friends would have stopped her. Going the piece and paper route of a letter announcing that she was leaving was all she could think of, “…I didn’t even properly say goodbye.”

“With knowing how Florentyna is…” Anya let out a small chuckle, “She would have probably locked you in your room so you wouldn’t leave.”

“It’s scary how accurately you made that prediction,” There was a bit of unamusement on Natalya’s expression when she said this. Her sister was right. Which made her realize how much she did truly miss being away from her family, even if she had only been gone for a few days since the break.

At least things haven’t changed in the household since the truth had come out about herself. Being adopted… It was just as life-changing as her learning about her powers. But regardless of the fact, they were still a family. Things were the same with her older sister being uncomfortably creepy, her older brother being way too soft and caring, and her father still being an overprotective man. It was honestly something that she missed, since while at Lenfia she had too much freedom… It made her wish that she had something more to do. 

The rest of the evening had consisted of simply catching up with her family. She didn’t tell them exactly why she decided to return in the first place. All she knew was that they were glad that she made a mature decision on her own, and that was that. 

Maybe in due time, she would tell the truth about how she found out that Alfred was a Prince and how every media outlet on Magix was after her.

What she was most worried about was going back to doing her usual chores around the house like she did prior to leaving for Lenfia. As expected, the very next day, she was told that she had to go do some shopping. Not for the bakery seeing that it was still in the process of being rebuilt, but shopping to get some groceries for her family. This was something that she didn’t mind, but it also reminded her of the last time she went shopping…

…Which was when she first discovered her fairy powers. 

Her sister was kind enough to let her borrow the bike she used to go to school to get to the supermarket. Shopping was easy. The hard part was making sure she didn’t get recognized anywhere around Moscow. Her family wasn’t big nor popular in Moscow, but the school she went to before Lenfia was huge.

It was a prestigious school that she had been awarded a full-tuition based scholarship due to her not only standardized testing grades but her overall academic performance. Her decision to leave to attend Lenfia was a shock for many of her fellow peers. Even during the Christmas break, Natalya had come to learn that already rumors had begun about her since her dismissal. 

The street she traveled down was a quieter road. No chance of getting recognized by someone, for sure. To even keep her appearance at a minimal, she had been wearing a normal coat, a hat on her head, and a scarf around her mouth. Everything was clear while traveling along, which was nice. It gave her a chance to once again view the familiar sights of Moscow, all until she wasn’t expecting to hear one familiar voice that made her cringe on the inside. 

“ _Well well well,”_ The voice had begun, “ _Back from reform school already? It’s been what, two weeks?”_

If this wasn’t the last thing she needed to make her transition of being home to become stressful, she didn’t know what else would cause it… Except this.

The blonde had stopped in place while in the middle of riding her bike. When she did so, she turned to face the young man who had been sitting in a car with a couple of other individuals she had once gone to school with years ago. 

“Natalya Arlovksaya, the genius girl in all of Moscow,” The voice continued as he lowered his glasses to get a better look of the depressed girl. The second he spoke, Natalya only wished she could be hit by a car at that moment, “So tell us, how was that special university for special girls? You know, I’m surprised to see you this time of year. School break just ended.”

Natalya shot a dark glare at the other, “Listen Feliks, I have to get home soon and am busy. So why don’t you just go to your gossip sites and figure out why I’m home in the first place, hm?” This was when she turned her head again and proceeded to use the pedals on the bike to travel away. Of course, that didn’t stop the vehicle that Feliks’ was in to follow her. 

“Oh I know,” He continued as he drove right beside her, “You got kicked out, didn’t you?”

An eye-roll was given by Natalya. She couldn’t let herself get angry… Especially not in front of someone like Feliks who was just teasing her to get a reaction, “Just leave me alone,” She glared at him, “My family is going through some tough shit right now and I have to be here for it.” 

“Right, so that’s your way of saying that a loser such as yourself was kicked out. Who even knew,” Laughter erupted from the car, which was enough of a confirmation for Natalya to figure out that Feliks wasn’t alone, “How sad it is to see one of our school’s academic prestige students becoming a criminal, a criminal so bad that she gets kicked out of reform school!”

Did this man ever shut up? It was at that point she believed that if she just breathed, the man had always something to say. It was after Feliks had said this statement that she could feel her teeth beginning to grind and face burn in anger. Instinctively, she held her hands out as a bright glow began to form in the palm of her hand as they drove away. Her mouth had been just about to open to conduct a spell, but then she cut herself off and lowered her hand.

No, she could get in serious trouble if she was caught using magic on Earth… Let alone, it was too risky. Yes, the area may be quiet, but there were still people occupied doing things.

“Damn it…”She muttered to herself and gripped back onto the handles of the bike she was on. Great way to start off that morning after an intense week, that was for sure. At least he was gone now and hopefully she wouldn’t have to see him again.

One less thing to worry about. 

The remainder of the morning was spent at the supermarket. This was her chance to at least get some time to herself, even if she was picking up items for her family to eat. It wasn’t a lot of items, just the standard milk, and bread that had to be restocked every week as well as for some ingredients to make supper. 

She arrived home about an hour later, where she carried the groceries inside and helped put them away. The rest of her chores of the day consisted of cleaning up the place, especially her bedroom seeing that it wasn’t cleaned as much due to her being at school.

Despite not being at Lenfia, she had a lot more free time than she ever thought she had. Even during her break, her family was having her work… But seeing that the shop was closed for repairs from the fire weeks ago, there was nothing much that could be done. This gave her the time to think to herself, read, and try to figure out what went wrong in the first place. 

If there was one thing that she couldn’t get over, it was the fact that she really missed Lenfia. 

She knew she shouldn’t be overreacting seeing that she was only gone for one day. The fact that she believed she considered never going there again truly was hard for her to accept. It was the most fun time she’s had while being a student. Natalya expected that she would successfully become a third-year and graduate as a proper fairy…

…But now, she was a bit unsure. 

During her free time after chores, she spent it up in her room reading the book that she had grown up with. The book about fairies was one that she read about almost every night since she had the capability to read. Looking at it now seemed foreign to her, since the information inside it was all incorrect. 

As a fairy, she could confirm that fairies didn’t eat things like flowers or weird things such as light from the sun. They acted like normal human beings too. 

Her eyes scanned through the pages of the book where the designs of fairies were portrayed. While the appearances of fairies in the book looked beautiful, this book portrayed them to ones found in a fairytale. For the longest time, that was her interpretation of what being a fairy was all about. Now that she had the experience of being a fairy herself, already, she could debunk multiple statements in the book. 

Fairies weren’t simply there to fly around and pester people. They were there to serve as protectors. As protectors in the magic dimension, they were to undergo intense training to develop their abilities in the form of three stages. At Lenfia, the first stage was done in their first year. The second stage was done in their second year, and the third stage was to transform into a full-fledged fairy that would unlock the abilities and opportunities of developing even more powerful magic. 

It led her to wonder how things were at Lenfia… She didn’t say anything when she had left and managed to get away without any issue. Though despite sneaking off, it didn’t mean that she got away with running off so easily.

The note that was left on her bed was found later the evening she had left. The second her friends had made their discovery. their first reaction was to try and get in contact with her. But of course, since Florentyna had taken away Natalya’s phone since she was strictly not allowed to see Alfred until the media calmed down, there was no way of contact.

What brought alertness to the administration though was when Natalya didn’t show up to classes the following day after the meeting. Not only wasn’t she present in any of them, but she didn’t even come for her examination of her powers with Glynda and Professor Polonium.

Being told in the later afternoon when Radella had been just about to leave for the day that Natalya had attended none of her classes nor appeared for her examination was a case where she found annoyance grow to her expression. The girl promised, and she had faith that Natalya was telling the truth when she wanted to work on her magic. She was one of Lenfia’s top first-year students as well, with always handling her assignments responsibly and never missing class… 

…What was going on? 

“Glynda,” Radella had cleared her throat as she turned back to her desk to take a seat. It seemed that finishing work for the day was something she wasn’t going to get, “…Can you please go retrieve Florentyna, Tatyana, Monika, and Mei? I’d like to have a word on this. Maybe they can all give me an understanding of where Natalya is.”

One thing she noticed that those five girls had a special bond. A strong bond of friendship that was rare to see in fairies. But alas, she figured that the group would be at least able to lead her to the direction of finding where Natalya was.

And getting answers were indeed what she received after Glynda had brought in what looked to be five nervous fairies. Perhaps it was a bad idea to send Glynda, since usually her being involved with retrieving students to see the headmistress always sent a bad message. Alas, Radella had welcomed the students into the office by motioning to the seats in front of her before waiting to ask, “…So, do one of you want to tell me where Ms. Arlovskaya is?”

Paled expressions came from the group now when hearing this question. The note had explicit instructions from Natalya to not tell anyone, but it seemed that administrators had picked it up very quickly that she wasn’t at the campus at all. There were no words given, though, for Florentyna, she had taken the risk and spoke out, “…gone, madam.”

“Gone?” Radella sat up in her seat, a bit intrigued, “Elaborate, please.”

There was no need for elaborating. Monika, Mei, and Tatyana had looked at Florentyna as she stood up from her seat and reached into her pocket to pull out the letter that was left by Natalya. It was in simple writing with the message getting across. The letter was taken by Radella, who read through it quickly before being met with shock.

If there was one thing she wasn’t expecting from Natalya, it was this. It was why she wanted to hit herself since she should have been more aware of it. 

Natalya was in such a sensitive state after everything that had happened at UHB. Then to have this expectation that she’d show up to an examination of her powers without considering the fact that she was probably hurting and not in a good mood. Her entire life has managed to change within just a matter of weeks… Having strange dreams, learning she was adopted, and now the press going after her?

It all made sense. 

The only place she could find comfort was with the family she grew up with on earth. 

Radella crinkled the note in response to reading it, which caught all of the girls' attention before she cleared her throat to speak, “Why didn’t you come and alert us immediately?”

The girls were silent when seeing the change of behavior in their headmistress’s voice. Normally she was a very soft-spoken woman and when it came to punishments, she was calm… But now that Natalya had run off? She was angered all of a sudden. 

“We didn’t know what to do, headmistress,” Tatyana spoke out first while her head gazed down. It was true, they didn’t know how to react upon Natalya disappearing like that, “We thought that—”

“—Thought _what?”_ Radella interrupted and crossed her arms, “That _I_ wouldn’t notice it? Why do you think I called you all in here in the first place? You’re not only Natalya’s roommates but of so much importance to her that I’d expect that you would know where she was. She wasn’t in classes today nor was she at the meeting I had scheduled her for later this afternoon.”

A meeting for later that afternoon? 

One by one, it all began to make sense. Natalya not only bailed on classes, but she skipped on a meeting that apparently she was to have with Radella. No one knew what this meeting was for, but at least now they all had a clue as to why they were all called in and caught that fast.

“Headmistress, we already couldn’t stop her since she snuck out before we had the chance. She didn’t even tell us that she was leaving,” Mei muttered and felt her hands form into fists. 

This was a lie. Even Monika had shot a glare at Mei because the truth was that Natalya _did_ tell them that they were leaving. Why was she lying all of a sudden?… 

“Something’s going on that we don’t even know about,” Tatyana interrupted the other in a soft tone, her expression holding back tears from being just as heartbroken, “As much as we want to know what’s going on just like you do, we couldn’t stop her. She did this at a time when we all knew we wouldn’t catch her.”

That was true. The girls didn’t do anything wrong, especially since it was done so sneakily. Natalya was able to get away with the act so quickly and precisely, that by the time they found the note, she was gone with no trace insight. It was a decision all done by herself… 

…Which wasn’t good at all. 

There was a risk that Natalya was in danger. She was all by herself on Earth and if those eager witches who were after the dragon flame and heart of ice were to find out that she ran away from the magical dimension, Radella had no idea what to do. 

Instead of showing her worries, she took in a breath and motioned her hand away, “You’re all dismissed. We’ll discuss this another time. But if she gets in contact with you, please let me know right away.” 

The sudden change of behavior was noted by the girls. It was a bit weird to them seeing Radella in such a high concerned state. When Natalya got herself trapped in a situation before, she was concerned, yes, but she wasn’t in such a high state of concern such as this one. 

When they were dismissed and all exited the office, they proceeded back to their dorm to discuss what they witnessed in the office. What they didn’t know too was that when they were gone, Radella had turned to Glynda with her expression full of concern.

“I want Natalya back here, as soon as possible,” She looked up at her colleague who looked shocked, “We need to find her before it’s too late.”

No one had been aware of the searching process that began within seconds of leaving that office. The fairies were all in a tense position, seeing that they all didn’t know how to react to hearing Radella’s strict tone of voice. It was almost as if the headmistress dismissed them without even thinking or knowing that technically, they could bring her back.

Though out of respect for Natalya’s wishes, no one went after her.

“Wasn’t that meeting…” Monika began while walking over to the door of their suite upon arriving. In her hands, she had pulled out a pair of keys to unlock the door, “…A bit weird?”

“Hell yeah, it was!” Florentyna burst out the second the door was opened so she could walk in. One by one, each fairy stepped inside before the door was closed, leading for the blonde to go over to the fridge so she could get herself a water bottle. Once opening it and taking a sip, she continued, “It was almost as if something bad happened with Natalya leaving. Yeah, shit hit the fan at UHB, but Radella was more concerned about this ‘meeting’ she was supposed to have with Natty.” 

Hearing all of this annoyed Mei. If Natalya wanted to leave, then so be it. But she wasn’t going to leave Lenfia just yet without giving them all a proper goodbye, “Which is why I think we should go drag her ass back here,” She began, which caught all of the girls’ attention. If there was one thing that Mei never did, it was sworn like that before.

_“Then she can leave for good. I’m not allowing her to leave without a proper goodbye.”_

* * *

Three days had passed since she had decided to leave Lenfia. While not being fully detached from leaving, Natalya did her best to distract herself. Whether it be picking up old hobbies such as knitting, reading, or even going out and ice skating at a nearby pond - it helped clear her mind a lot. Things had begun adjusting more for her and it felt like she hadn’t left home in the first place. Sure, she had powers now, but that still didn’t change anything with her family.

When she was home, one of her favorite things to do was to help out with her family’s business. The last time she had been at the bakery, construction had already begun from the insurance to rebuild it from the fire. Though due to having customers who were loyal to the business, apparently, her father had taken on the idea of selling at the Russian market. 

The market would have plenty of customers. Let alone, it would be a great way not only to continue the business during repairs but to let people know that their bakery was to return much bigger and more upgraded than it ever had been in years. This meant that Natalya had the chance to earn herself some extra money, that way she could go and do things on Earth with money.

Natalya was home and broke, so being asked to join her brother on an early morning to go to the Russian market to sell some baked goods was the quickest yes she had ever given to. She was happy to be outside working and talking to customers that she’s known since she was a younger child. The circumstances were different seeing that they were selling in a booth temporarily with other booths, but that didn’t neglect the fact that their business continued to be successful.

Despite working a normal job, for now, having magic changed things for her. She had the abilities and knew spells to manipulate things, which she never found herself doing… Until that very morning when she realized they had sold out pirozhki. 

Her family’s pirozhki was a best-seller to a majority of their customers. It had been only two hours since opening their booth in the market, and already they were sold out. Natalya had believed her brother would dismiss customers who were wanting to order pirozhki, but instead, something else had taken place that greatly annoyed her.

“The pirozhki will be available in about ten minutes, if you don’t mind waiting,” Natalya could hear her older brother speak in his soft, gentle tone while taking on a customer’s order.

Did… Did he just ignore the fact that she had told him that they were sold out? There was no way that they’d magically have pirozhki there to sell - it was all gone for the day until they were able to make some tomorrow! The process of making them was intense too, with having to make the dough, stuffing the meat filling, making sure it was fully cooked all the way… But then she realized what her brother was doing.

Natalya turned her head from behind the booth to see who the customer was. Her expression softened upon the realization of it being an elderly woman with her two grandchildren… Great, _now_ she knew why Dmitri was being so nice, “Of course, Dmitri,” The woman had spoken, “We don’t mind waiting.” 

He expected that Natalya had pirozhki.

This resulted in Natalya to sigh loudly as she glared down at the container that once had been carrying filled pirozhki. She didn’t do anything with motioning her hands, but instead, she allowed for her eyes to glow in magic. Sparkles had filled the container that within seconds, a small blast of magic had resulted in fresh pirozhki appearing as if they were summoned to be there. Fortunately, she was behind the booth, so no one could see her. 

Her brother was _really_ lucky that her powers didn’t just focus on the elements of fire and ice… Yes, she could control both, but she also did learn summoning spells while at Lenfia.

“Big brother, the pirozhki are actually ready now,” Natalya had called from behind him in their native tongue as she used a pair of tongs to pick one of them up to put into a paper bag. 

Followed by this, she rolled the bag up and popped from behind him, which indeed startled the customer who was standing there. That was enough of a confirmation for her that they didn’t see her. A small smile was on Natalya’s face when she handed over the bag, but at the same time, she wanted to punch her brother in the face for even suggesting that they had some in the first place.

“Ah, thank you so much, Natya,” The old woman smiled and took the bag. She now opened it up and gave each a pirozhki to her grandchildren before grabbing one of her own, “I haven’t seen you in a while. How has university been?”

That’s right. Almost every customer knew her as Dmitri’s little baby sister, which also meant that they knew she was attending ‘university’…. Not a school for fairies or anything of the sort. 

“It’s been well,” Natalya began while standing there in place, “I’m on break for right now, so I’ve decided to help the family until the upgrades are finished at the old shop.”

“Very good,” The woman responded, a clear sense of respect and admiration being toward Natalya, “I hope to see you again soon. Bring your older sister too, I’d love to say hello,” With a gentle nod, she had turned herself around with the children to leave.

The second she was gone, this gave Natalya the opportunity to glare at her brother in annoyance who simply smiled at her innocently. Another customer had come up to place an order. For the sake of them being in Russia and a majority of their customers speaking in Russian, she spoke in flat English to the other, “Don’t look at me like that, you jerk. You can’t just lie to an old woman like that and expect me to use my powers all the time.” 

Dmitri though was prepared for his little sister’s remarks. While he was indeed a very soft gentleman, he also knew that his little sister would be able to help out in any situation like this, “Yes, I know it was wrong,” He responded in English to her, “But she was an older lady with two children, Natalya. You weren’t going to say no to an older lady, even if you’re mean.”

“Oh, I would have.” There was another annoyed tone that came from her, “You can tell me to kick a kid for 100 rubles and I wouldn’t hesitate at all.”

However, he did have a point. Customers were customers. It was always good to have a strong relationship with them… And also technically it was illegal and she didn’t want to get arrested. 

With another eye roll, the girl had turned herself to the back of the booth where she resumed putting together orders for customers that had approached. Though the entire time, she had been muttering to herself out of frustration and anger. Whenever she used her magic it always reminded her of Lenfia, which was one thing her brother noticed when he went to go check on her.

“You really miss your friends, don’t you Natya?” Dmitri had asked now in Russian instead of English from the door as a small frown grew to his face. He didn’t like to see his sister upset, especially since it affected her overall performance while working too, “Don’t worry. I’m sure that they’ll be coming after you like they always do.”

Hearing that brought a smile to the girl’s face. That’s right. If her friends were that crazy enough, they were probably already planning to escape Lenfia and go after her. She knew she’d have to pretend that she didn’t want for them to come, but in reality, she really did. 

“You’re right….” Natalya picked up one of the larger rolling pins as she laid out some flour. Followed by this, she had dusted her hands and looked at the other with a calmer expression, “…Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.”

While having their brief conversation in the back of the booth, what Natalya hadn’t realized was that just a few feet away, there were three individuals wearing black coats. This was assumed seeing that it was indeed a cold day in Russia that everyone would be in winter attire, but this was all part of the disguise that Glynda, Aviana, and Nebula had prepared for themselves when getting themselves to Earth. 

Having magic allowed them to use their abilities to cast a spell on themselves to have the ability to see behind the booth. There, the witches could see Natalya speaking to an older male. The expression on her face showed a clear sign of depression, which was perfect for them.

“I knew the little princess wouldn’t last long,” Gelinda chuckled while adjusting the sunglasses she had been wearing to hide her appearance, “She didn’t fit in at Lenfia, and yet, she still doesn’t realize she doesn’t belong to this world either.” 

“Proves even further that she’s definitely King Viktor and Queen Alyona’s missing kid,” Nebula had spoken out while she had been sipping a cup of iced coffee that they had purchased upon entering Earth. While they were all witches, there were things on earth that some magical creatures liked to enjoy, “Also, off-topic. This ice coffee? Absolutely delicious.”

“Would you shut up about your damn ice coffee?” Aviana snapped at the other witch; wearing a mask over her face, “I swear, we’re on Earth for a day and you’re considering that these non-magic freaks are cool.”

Despite the bickering that took place with the other two witches, seeing Natalya’s behavior and how easy it was to get her was all wonderful news to Gelinda. Her plan of obtaining the princess and her power was the ultimate goal that their ancestors wanted in the first place. The ancestral witches succeeded in destroying the Braginsky family, so now it was officially time to destroy Natalya once and for all.

“Soon our plan will be in action,” Gelinda laughed softly to herself with a devilish look to her face, “Then Princess Natasha’s power will be all ours…” 

The remainder of the day, the witches kept close watch of what the fairy was doing. To their surprise, it didn’t seem to be anything insane… Just, working. That was it. Working all day, to the point where they grew bored just waiting for their opportunity to jump onto her. 

The issue was that there were humans around. The second humans were to see magic being used, it was considered forbidden. They could get locked up before having the chance to get Natalya. 

For Natalya, she hadn’t realized she was being watched at all. Instead, to keep herself occupied, she worked at the booth for the majority of the day. Even when given the opportunity to switch shifts with her sister, she declined the offer and stayed by to help until the evening until they were completely sold out. The more hours she put in, the more money she’d be able to get to spend on her own. Her brother didn’t seem to mind since she already knew the routine of how to handle customers and goods. 

He had left after cleaning up. Despite offering Natalya a ride home, she had told him she wanted to do some shopping and would meet him home for supper.

Having time alone to herself was one thing that she realized that she needed. It was a good thing that shouldn’t be neglected since self-care was what she was focusing on during these hard times of trying to detach from Lenfia. She left the Russian market after closing up the booth, deciding to visit smaller shops she hadn’t been to in months, and spending the little money she had from her paycheck from her shift before going back to Lenfia. 

She wandered for about an hour or so after the booth was closed. Thus, it becoming very dark outside by the time she finished. Fortunately, she did have the bike her older sister let her borrow, so she wouldn’t be on foot. The bonus was that it had a light on it, so all she had to do was turn it on and make her way back home.

In her ears she had headphones put in so she could listen to music while riding away. This music was nothing special of course; simple pop music that would give her energy after a long day of work.

But something was a bit odd. While it was dark from the night sky to her, something about the environment was off. It was almost as if her instincts were telling her that someone had been… Following her? 

That was when she heard it.

The sounds of an engine following her. Her eyes widened when realizing that it was coming at her direction. So when it had been close enough, she shifted the bike to another direction and stood in place when seeing the vehicle that had been following her.

A scooter… A pink scooter with someone that had a pink helmet on? 

Now it made sense.

“What’s up, Natalya?” The individual who had been riding the scooter removed his helmet. This resulted in the girl on her bike to let out a bit of annoyed groan upon seeing the familiar face of Feliks. Why did he always run into her when she was by herself? “So seriously, I keep thinking about it. Did you like, flunk an exam or something? Is that why you got kicked out?” 

“ _Feliks_ ,” Natalya turned her head away and began riding the bike once more. She was not in the mood to engage in conversation with him at that very moment, “It’s none of your damn business. Why is it that when I come home, you immediately think I got expelled or some shit?” 

“Because I want to know,” Feliks proceeded on following the girl when she rode off with her bike, “So it’s true? You did get expelled?”

Was he really trying to make this conversation happen? The only reason why he was pushing for answers was that he wanted to gossip with other people about it. He was the gossip type and loved digging up dirt on anyone when he can. Plus, he didn’t like her at all, so anything to make him look better than her, he wouldn’t hesitate to try and do so. 

The entire time she rode on her bike, she kept her eyes up ahead and ignored the sounds of his engine beside her, “No. Again, my family has a bit of an emergency and I’m here to support, for fuck’s sake. Why don’t you just pretend that I don’t exist, hm? You always seem to come after me when I’m home.”

“Oh, that’s easy enough for me to do,” Feliks grin and rode past her now. The smoke from his scooter’s tire had gotten into her face, thus resulting in her to pause and let out a few coughs, “You’re already a nobody that no one cares about.” 

Big mistake, Feliks. Natalya couldn’t help but think to herself as she watched him begin riding away. No, he was not going to get away with this. Coming up and harassing her in the middle of the night? She already had a long day, so it was time to take out just a little bit of anger.

She knew she said she wouldn’t do it, but she already couldn’t stop herself now.

Her hands were held out in the direction of Feliks as a bright, powerful glow formed in her palm. Not to hit him, but his bike.

“ _Transformus assosias_!” 

A glow of magic went flying from her direction when Feliks was feet away, resulting in the bike to be hit with no miss. It was a simple spell she learned in her metamorphosis class, which was why she was going to make sure he paid properly. She knew the exact thing to turn his beloved bike into.

And that was completely transforming his scooter into a wooden tricycle. It was nothing harmful of course, but seeing him go from a large scooter so something so tiny, she couldn’t help but snicker. 

“What the hell!?” Loud shrieking came from Feliks as he looked down to see the scooter he was on turning into a tricycle. He turned himself around immediately to see what had happened, but instead, he had been greeted to seeing simply darkness from the street he was on.

Natalya was gone. All she had done was after conducting the spell was vanish to a corner of the street so he wouldn’t see her and figure it out it was her. Then again, she already declared him as stupid to not figure out these things, so she should be okay.

Was using magic on him wrong? Yes. Was she allowed to do that? No. 

But at that point, she didn’t care and just wanted to get home.

A simple chuckle was given by Natalya before she rode off. The fun part about it was that Feliks had no idea that it was Natalya who put the spell on his scooter. He had money, so he could easily get himself a new one. 

The bike ride home had been just about ten minutes. It wasn’t long at all, but when she arrived, she was absolutely exhausted. The lights were still on, so she knew that her family must’ve been still awake. She hoped her father cooked something good to eat. All she could think of was having a good meal after a long day of work - the one thing she’d love right at that moment.

Upon opening the door with her keys, she had slipped off her shoes and put her coat into the closet near the door. It was silent. When she came home at this time, her sister was playing Russian folk music in the kitchen to indicate that she was cooking while her father was in his study working. 

But why was it so quiet?

“Hello?” Natalya had called out under their native tongue; the keys hung up and the door locked closed before she wandered down the hallway of the house. 

She peeked in the kitchen to see that there were a few pots on the stove, so dinner was ready… But where was her sister? She turned around, continuing to walk down the hallway until she noticed a bit of light from the living room. Without any sort of hesitation, she walked through the entrance while yawning softly, “I’m back—“

_“Natalya! So good to see you!”_

A woman’s voice had come immediately in response to Natalya peeking her head through the entrance and revealing herself. This made the girl’s eyes widen in response to the horror she was witnessing.

_“We couldn’t let you go soon.”_

_“You have something that belongs to us, your highness.”_

Being presented to the sight of Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula in her own house was the very last thing she ever expected. She thought Feliks was bad, but having witches on Earth? It was a whole other story of insanity.

“You three!?” Natalya had choked on her breathing, absolutely startled. Though all she needed to see was not only her sister tied up against a wall but her father and brother tied up in the middle of the living room, “What are you doing here!?”

“Haven’t you figure it out, Natalya?” Gelinda had taken a step forward the girl, completely unphased by her startling behavior, “You know what we want. So you’re either going to give it to us, or we’ll take it from you the hard way.”

‘Know what they wanted’… No, no she didn’t. The first thing that came to mind was seeing her dead. That was the very obvious one that she knew of. They told her the same thing during her final exam back at Lenfia… She had something that they wanted, yet, she had no idea what they were referring to. The second she heard this, her eyes widened as she stood there, unsure of what to say or how to even react, “Excuse me?” Natalya growled lowly under her tongue, the anger for them clearly building upon her expression.

This night couldn’t have gotten any worse.

“We’ve also come to pay your family a visit,” Aviana had spoken as she gave a polite bow to Natalya, “That is if we can call them your family. As citizens of the magic dimension, we figured it’d be best to say our salutations and thanks for raising the last child of the royal family.” 

“—What the hell are you talking about?” Natalya had snapped, interrupting the other. This resulted in large grins to be revealed on the witches' expressions because if they could get the girl angry enough, she could use her full power and it would be their chance to take it, “If you want to deal with me, so be it. But do _not_ let my family be part of this. They’re innocent.” 

All of them began to laugh. What was so funny? No one was laughing. Natalya was more horrified at the sight of her family being held, hostage. How long were they like this? Her brother must’ve gotten home an hour ago, which led her to come to the prediction that the witches raided her home while she was gone so she’d be ambushed on the spot. 

This couldn’t be happening. She didn’t want her family to be pulled into this at all.

“How adorable! The princess wants to protect her fake family.” Nebula couldn’t help but snicker.

“Listen Natalya,” Gelinda began while slowly tilting her head; a devilish grin that grew darker as the seconds passed, “We’re here for one thing, and one thing only. And that is to obtain the power you possess of the dragon flame and heart of ice. It belongs to the ancestral witches, therefore it belongs to us.”

The dragon flame and heart of ice? No, what Gelinda was saying was impossible. Radella had told her at Lenfia that the powers were long gone. They were destroyed after the destruction of Sparx and have never had any trace of its existence in years. Now Gelinda was suddenly suggesting that _she_ was the source? 

A bright glow of magic filled the room once Gelinda had snapped her fingers. Within seconds, dark creatures began growing from the ground to surround the fairy. 

As much as she knew it was technically illegal to use magic on Earth, she had no other choice. Not using her powers would only get her more trapped in the situation than she already was in.

“Creatures of the dark,” Gelinda had clapped her hands; the creatures glaring right at the direction of the blonde fairy. Their eyes radiated with a glowing yellow shade and had baring teeth that seemed eager to attack the girl, which was enough for even her own family to be worried at the sight of the monsters, “The princess is all yours,”

One snap of her fingers was all it took for the monsters to launch right at Natalya’s direction. 

Seeing that she was standing at the entrance of the living room, she couldn’t just run outside that easily without these monsters catching up. The thing was that the witches didn’t know who she was other than just a fairy from Lenfia. Despite being a first-year, she grew up on Earth. She didn’t need magic to fight, but instead, relied on the skills from extracurriculars she developed from figure skating and gymnastics. 

Natalya had jumped into the air when the creatures of darkness had gone after her. With a quick and steady flip, she had landed on her feet to dodge the attack. She used her hand to catch herself; now pushing herself back up before noticing from behind, the monsters were after her again. Another jump in the air allowed for the monsters to rush past her, now going in the direction of the witches.

If she could get them out of the house, that would make things easier.

The witches didn’t seem happy at all to see the sight of the girl dodging the attacks from the monsters. Even Gelinda, who was startled, had no idea that the girl had this amount of strength. Natalya cast a glance at her family; the horror and fear presented in her eyes before she spoke under their native tongue, “I’ll save you, I promise.” She whispered before running out of the house. 

The house already went through so much damages from the first fight of the witches months ago with their creatures… Then losing the bakery to a fire… She couldn’t lose her childhood home too. She couldn’t.

The creatures followed after the girl within seconds of her rushing out of the house. It was perfectly executed in her plan. Once outside, she had more space to control her magic. She had swung her hands into the air as bright magic filled the area. In her hands, the magic had gone flying in the direction of the monsters - no spell needed to be cast. One by one, they began disappearing. 

With the witches still inside, this was her chance.

_“…Charmix.”_

A glow of magic surrounded the girl as the transformation sequence occurred. The winter clothes she had been wearing earlier had transformed into her fairy attire. The blue-collared crop-top, a skirt, blue heels, blue forearm sleeves, a gem in the shade of gold on her chest, and a tiara on the top of her head while a pair of wings grew behind her. Her hair had been curled at its ends and sparkled with fairy dust as well. As a finishing touch, a bit of make-up in pink on her eyelids and lips. 

“Now we can make this even,” Natalya began as all around her, sparks of magic had surrounded her body. 

She got the first round of dark creatures to get away from her, but they were being summoned more and more she attacked. She had to come up with a spell to get rid of them completely so they stopped being summoned… But what spell? The only way to stop these creatures was too…

…Attack its original source. 

Natalya’s eyes shot over to where Gelinda had been standing at the entrance of the house; grinning at the now transformed fairy who was surrounded. Attacking the creatures would be useless, which meant that she had figured out the key to stopping them.

She jumped into the air while her hands glew with magic once more. As she did so, she swung her magic in the form of an attack right at Gelinda’s direction, which the witch didn’t expect.

“ _Fire fury!”_ Natalya had shouted as the attack took out the said witch. 

Just as she thought, the second she had hit Gelinda, all of the creatures of the darkness began disappearing. A large grin formed on the girl’s face while the other two witches had rushed over to attend to the fallen witch. 

The hit wasn’t enough to fully take out Gelinda. It was enough to stop the monsters, but within seconds of getting help, she was already standing with dark magic beginning to radiate around her body. 

This wouldn’t be good at all. 

“So Natalya,” Gelinda had spoken out once she had gotten herself together. Followed by this, the three witches had now flown up into the air and surrounded the fairy, “You’d rather deal with us, huh?” 

“I suppose the hard way it is,” Nebula had spoken out; her eyes glowing a dark color. 

This caught Natalya’s attention when she saw it. Which meant that they were going to make the first attack. All she could think of that very moment was, well, to avoid starting a fight at any cost. If they were to attack, there could be destruction in the city.There was no way she would allow for the witches to proceed with such a thing. The first idea that came to her head was to get them to a more private area where they could properly battle. 

“…Catch me if you can, then!” Quickly, Natalya had shot herself into the air and flew immediately away from the witches. Aviana had already sent an attack towards the fairy, but all it took was for her quick dodge into the air to get her to miss. 

Anger built upon the witches’ faces. She was going to make them chase her the hard way, whether they liked it or not. Alas, the more she flew off, the more it didn’t stop the three from going after her.

Exactly what Natalya had planned.

The attacks of magic were still flying in her direction as the three witches chased her. On occasion, she would have to turn around and pause in their chasing session to form a protective barrier around her so she couldn’t take the hit. If she were hit and the witches got possession of her, she had no idea what could happen.

She still didn’t even know why they were after her in the first place. 

The more and more she flew though, she could feel herself becoming exhausted. The only reason why she had been so exhausted was due to the fact that she hadn’t been using her powers as crazy as this. Since the incident at UHB, she only kept her magic strictly for classes. That was the one thing she realized during her time at Lenfia.

Casting spells were exhausting. Powerful ones at least could take up her entire energy. The one spell she had cast on Alice back at UHB with revoking her powers temporarily had her so exhausted by the end of it, she understood why she was taken out for ice cream. 

But casting powerful spells at the witches after a few days since the event at UHB? Her exhaustion was beginning to catch up. Even with being exhausted, her power only continued to build up due to the fact that she couldn’t take it anymore with the witches attacking her.

Natalya had turned around and stopped midair to face the witches. They all stared at her with lustful eyes, which didn’t phase the girl at all. Instead, she had held her hands up into the air and soon magic had once again formed around her. 

“ _Icesus Desterious!”_ The air around the witches soon became cold. The fairy had held her hands out now at the witches before she had shot her next attack in hopes to take them out. 

All of the witches’ expressions became full of panic upon the attack that Natalya had sent over. Since it had been such powerful magic, that had been enough to wipe them to the ground. A sigh of relief was met by her when she saw them take the hit and soon resulted in her lowering herself to take a breather.

She had to call someone from Magix… But how? She didn’t have any way of contacting anyone. She didn’t even know any good spells that could get her in contact with a nearby fairy. 

She was in danger. Extreme danger.

That’s when it clicked in her head. Was this why Radella was worried about her? With the use of her powerful magic, it could be enough to lure the witches in her direction to go after her. Maybe that’s why she wanted her to do extra training sessions with Professor Polonium… That way, they could prepare her for situations such as this one.

“Relax, ladies,” Gelinda had spoken out when she had gotten up from the ground. She could tell that her sisters were angered by the expressions they were giving Natalya. But this was only phase two of their plan.

Phase one was to have Natalya see her family tied up and held as hostages. Phase two was to send the creatures of darkness so she could use enough of her power to drain herself out. And phrase three….

“Begin phase three of the plan,” Gelinda ordered and snapped her fingers. Soon, each witch began fading away from the spot they were originally at with Natalya.

Where were they going? Phase three of what plan? To invade her and her family? If the earlier two phases were to go after her family, then her… What was phase three? 

Then it all clicked.

“No…” 

They were going to go back to her family and do something to them.

Quickly, she jumped into the air and flew immediately in the direction of her home. It had been dark enough in Moscow that no one would be able to see her. If she had to use full-blown attacks, she would on those witches if they dare touched her family.

Returning to her house was exactly the nightmare she had predicted. What she had been exposed to was the sight of something that she never wanted her family to ever been in. 

Below her brother and father had been a growing dark hole that would only suck them in if they were dropped into it. Her older sister on the other hand was still tied up against the wall and screaming through the rope that had been keeping her mouth barricaded from the fact that not only her sister was in danger, but so were her brother and father too.

“Wow, that must be a record.” Gelinda couldn’t help but speak as she had been holding her hands up and using magic to keep the two men who were tied up into the air, “How are you feeling, Natalya? Getting a bit sleepy yet from using all of that powerful magic?”

“Gelinda, please…” Horror was making its way to Natalya’s face. This was exactly what the witches wanted, but they weren’t done yet, “I understand you despise the living shit out of me, but please don’t do this. Just leave my family out of this! Why are you doing this?”

“Give us your power, Natalya,” Aviana couldn’t help but to wave her finger at the fairy before a hint of laughter had escaped her lips, “It’s our destiny to have it.”

“We’re doing this to make your dear dreams come true,” Nebula had followed-up to her sister’s statement with a grin, “Don’t you want to be a normal girl? All you have to do is hand over the dragon flame and heart of ice, and you can stay with your fake family for the rest of your life.” 

There it was, they were saying it again. The dragon flame and heart of ice… Was it really her power? Natalya had looked down at her hands that glew. On one hand, had been a flame while the other one had been a flame in the shade of a lighter tone. The power of the dragon flame and heart of ice… The description she was given in her dreams and her instincts had always told her what the power was.

Alyona said in her dreams that she had to protect the power. No matter what.

She couldn’t give it to them. Something in her heart had told her that if she gave the power to them, chaos could ensue.

“I don’t know where I got these powers at all,” Natalya had spat in response to that statement; indicating that she was rejecting the proposal, “But I know that wherever I came from, I am the guardian of this power and no one can use it aside from me, and me only! It was decided when I was born and I refuse to give it up to you witches that easily!” 

“Boo, wrong answer, _Natasha_ ,” Gelinda had sighed and shaken her head to that response, “You’d expect the princess to be smarter than that, don’t you agree, sisters?” 

Confusion struck the girl’s eyes. Did she hear that correctly? Natasha? These witches had to have been mocking her at that point unless they knew something else that she didn’t. Her name was Natalya, nothing else. She was so confused that it only allowed time to pass… The more time that had passed, the more that allowed for Gelinda to make an easy decision with the family hostage there.

With the snap of her fingers one final time, Natalya had watched as her brother and father fell into the dark hole that had formed in the ground. The hole had resembled what looked to be a dark black hole, to the point where if someone had fallen in, there was no return. This resulted in the witches to laugh loudly as a loud scream of horror and panic came from the fairy.

Her instincts had gone into full gear as it took less than a second for Natalya herself to rush over. With no hesitation, she had jumped jump directly into the hole. She knew she was exhausted, but she would never allow her family to get killed and it is her entire fault. A part of energy had burst inside her that made her go after them, with all she could think of in her mind at that very moment, was all the memories she had been with her family.

She grew up knowing her father and siblings as her only family. They took her in when she was a newborn and raised her to the woman she was today.

She was willing to sacrifice her entire life for them. 

Tears began to well up in Natalya’s eyes as she pushed herself to the full limit to get herself down the hole as quickly as she could. A burst of magic from her was as followed, which resulted in her flying much more quickly than she normally would. 

When she caught up to her brother and father, she had held her hands out and formed a protective barrier around them. At that point, her entire body was shaking in pain. Not only emotional pain had been having an effect on her, but extreme physical pain as well since she had reached her limits. 

With them in the protective bubble now, she flew up out of the entrance of the hole and pulled them up with her. Once they were out, she had landed them safely onto the ground as she shot a dark glare right at Gelinda whose expression had angered that despite using up all of her energy, Natalya was still going.

“Such an annoying little brat…” Darkness began forming in her hands now. With her handheld out, magic had flown from it to hit Natalya at the side, immediately knocking the girl to the ground who was struggling to get up at this point, “You should have been sent to the Realm of Darkness along the rest of your stupid royal family.”

Sent to the Realm of Darkness? What the hell were these witches talking about?! Even if they mocked her at the moment, she continued to get up. She wouldn’t fall to them, no. As much pain as she was in, she couldn’t show signs of weakness. However, getting up was the one thing to show her pain based on the way she stumbled.

It was enough for the witches to finish it off.

The next thing before she knew it, Aviana had sent over her magic at the fairy as well. This resulted in a painful scream to come from the fairy. What was the most painful part was when Nebula had combined her magic with Aviana; resulting in bolts of lightning to hit the fairy multiple times. She dropped to the ground where her vision was blurry. 

It was as if shocks of pain had been traveling up her nerves and shocking her brain.

“Give it up, Natalya.” Gelinda took a few steps in the direction of the fairy to kick her in the side. The fairy had gone flying off into the other side of the living room where her back slammed against the wall, “You’re struggling in vain.”

No… No, they couldn’t have it. Her heart told her that she had to protect those powers at all costs. It was decided at her birth that she had to be the sole guardian of it. Just because she was physically weak doesn’t mean she can’t let them take it.

“You should know by now your highness, that our ancestors raided your kingdom years ago to obtain it. Your powers were supposed to belong to our coven of sisters.” Gelinda continued and held her hands up. It was only a few seconds later after she did this that a chain of darkness had pinned Natalya to the wall; stabilizing her so she couldn’t move at all. 

When she did, Natalya learned the hard way with the feelings of electricity shocking her in place. She let out a loud scream in agony from the pain, resulting in the other two witches that came with Gelinda to begin laughing at the weak fairy. 

The chains had restrained her from her wrists to her ankles. To make matters even worse, another attack had been launched at her direction that resulted in ice forming around her body. Just thinking of using her magic had Natalya cry out, but nothing was working. Alas, Gelinda stepped forward and grabbed onto the girl’s chin with a firm grip.

“Our coven went as far as they could, and even destroyed _your_ kingdom in the process of trying to obtain it,” She explained. Natalya’s eyes were full of tears from the pain she was experiencing, which to Gelinda, she didn’t care for at all. Instead, she continued on with her explanation, which did not make sense at all to her, “Your father died in agony trying to protect your mother and siblings. But of course, your mother was very smart. So smart that…” She stomped her foot out of frustration, “Fucking hell, it pisses me off! How a pixie-like her, so smart to send her kid to Earth!? I hate admitting it, but it’s genius!” There was a moment she paused to lower Natalya’s chin, “Tell me, Natalya. Do you know _who_ we’re talking about right now?”

There was silence that came from the fairy. No response, other than what sounded like a pained groan from the girl. No, the reality was that she had no idea what they were talking about. Her mother and father… Was this her adoptive family, or her birth family?

“…So you don’t know.” The hand was lowered from Natalya’s chin as Gelinda slowly began to pace slowly back and forth in front of the girl. She hummed, figuring out how to properly break the news while also managing to break that little heart of hers, “Let’s do a history lesson, ladies. Who was King Viktor and Queen Alyona?”

“The former rulers of the magic dimension,” Aviana had chuckled under her breath.

“Correct. Next history question,” Gelinda had glared right at the fairy, “What is the most powerful magic of the entire magical dimension?”

“The dragon flame and heart of ice,” This time, Nebula had taken a step forward to mock the fairy in front of them.

Why were they doing this? Mocking her in the form of a history lesson? She already knew this from her research and speaking with Radella. What was the point of the witches mocking her again!?

“Final question.” Gelinda crossed her arms and stared right at Natalya, a small grin formed on her lips, “Is Natasha Braginskaya dead?”

This was a question that didn’t make sense at all to Natalya. The name… It sounded very familiar to her, but she had no idea who it belonged to. There were no words that came from the witches as if they were expecting to hear the answer from her. But instead, there was nothing. 

The witches took this as their cue to answer the question for her. Alas, Gelinda had turned herself away from the fairy and did the one thing that Natalya never expected to see a witch like her do.

One by one, each witch had gone down on their knee to her. Their arms were folded behind them, heads were bowed, yet had dark expressions grown to their face. 

“…Natasha Braginskaya isn’t dead,” Gelinda had answered simply before turning to face Natalya, though while restrained, had confusion drawn up to her face, “Because she’s looking right at us unknowingly.”

The expression on Natalya’s face went from confusion to a softer one. She was… Absolutely baffled. They were calling her by a name that didn’t make any sense to her, yet, it felt like she knew it. The fact that they had gone down on their knees while having her restrained was more shocking than what was coming out of their mouths. 

“Do you get it now, Natalya?” Gelinda stood herself up, keeping her distance away from the fairy, “Who you really are?”

“The guardian of the most ultimate powers of the magic dimension…” Aviana had stood up just behind Gelinda, trying to hold back her laughter in amazement at the fact that Natalya seemed more shocked than them, “…And the youngest Princess. You know ladies, we could make hella bank saying that we found the lost Princess with the Magix Council.”

“…Stop it…” Natalya had groaned out, now trying to move under the restraints. Though with one movement, all it took was for another shock of lightning to radiate through her body, resulting in a piercing cry, “I said stop it! Why are you telling me this!?”

“Because we’re going to make sure you know why we’re talking your powers from you,” Gelinda had responded in a clear tone of voice, unphased at the girl’s cries. If anything, it heavily amused her at the fact that she didn’t realize that with any movement she made, the restraint would shock her even more to the point where she could pass out.

“We know all about you and your family.” As Gelinda spoke, Natalya was listening to her in silence. The horror, even more, beginning to build-up in her eyes out of fear if what she was saying was indeed true, “The ancestral witches have been tracking the dragon flame and heart of ice for centuries, going after each heir on who was to have it. When they finally located it in the Kingdom of Sparx with it being inside Queen Alyona, your mother, they launched an attack on the capital planet of the magic dimension. This was especially done knowing that days before the attack, she had just given birth to her youngest daughter. You.” 

“When a fairy gives birth to a baby,” Aviana had interrupted briefly, now approaching while brushing her hair behind her ear, “All of their magical energy is used to protect the child in their womb. Your mother was weak and vulnerable with the dragon flame and heart of ice, so it was the perfect time to attack.”

“The thing was, your mother was too damn smart,” Gelinda sighed heavily and turned her head away. This statement going back to her previous one about how she despised the former queen, “She was about to be ambushed, but instead, she gave up her powers to be bestowed upon you and told your older sister to send you here to Earth. Afterward, for her and your older brother to escape… After all, Princess Yekaterina, Prince Ivan, and little baby Natasha had to be protected at all costs. And the Queen succeeded in making sure the ancestral witches couldn’t find you.”

Kingdom of Sparx… And older brother and sister? The queen, and her father… She had a family? A birth family?… If what the witches were saying was true, then did this ‘tragedy’ that everyone talked about in the magical dimension was about her and her family? 

“Unfortunately, after you were sent here to Earth, the witches found your siblings,” Nebula finished off Gelinda’s explanation with an unsympathetic smile towards the fairy, “Your big sister and big brother? They could be very well alive for all we know but are trapped by the ancestral witches. As for your mother…”

“…Poor Queen Alyona was put under a curse.” Aviana hummed to the thought of the story they were explaining to Natalya, “The dreams you’ve been having? That’s your mother talking to you. She’s still very well alive just like your brother and sister.”

“…Do you ladies remember when they first announced the birth of princess Natasha?” Gelinda couldn’t help but grin in a mocking tone, “On the television back home? The entire magical dimension was celebrating for months when the royal family announced Alyona was pregnant. Such a shame she never got to see her baby grow up into a feisty little fairy.”

All of this brought pain to her chest. It was a reality check that Natalya didn’t even know how to react to, other than being blown away at the fact that she _did_ have a birth family. Her family was alive, but she had no idea where they were. Tears began to form around her eyes. She didn’t let them fall, but it was clear to the witches that part of her… Was relieved.

While this wasn’t the circumstance that she wanted to go through with learning the truth of who she was, her family… It was information that would lead her to hopefully the right direction. 

“A little fairy? Correct yourself next time, sister,” Laughter erupted from Aviana again, almost as if she found the encounter amusing. Let alone, the fact that Natalya was trying to stay so strong the entire time, “Your royal highness, Natasha. You are the youngest princess of the Braginsky royal family. With your mother giving up her powers to you, that means you are the chosen one to protect the dragon flame and heart of ice. The guardian fairy of the greatest power in the universe… More powerful than any other fairy alive.”

Gelinda approached Natalya and grasped onto her chin firmly again, making sure the girl with her stricken tears were looking directly at her, “…And very shortly, your powers will be ours for once and for all.”

The witches had surrounded the restrained fairy. While she knew what the witches were doing, what was more shocking was the fact that she didn’t even learn this information at all. In her dreams, she would always be talking to a woman named Alyona.

Was this what her dreams were about? Alyona - her own mother - trying to help her remember who she was?

Then there was the name, Natasha… When she had asked her adoptive parents where they had gotten the name Natalya, they said that the locket she wore had the name ‘Natya.’ The same locket was around her neck, which she had never taken off as a child. Her family then named her Natalya based on the information that they did have on her, though in reality - her birth name had been Natasha. 

She was the lost princess of Sparx. That’s why everyone had been so hesitant to be around her. Headmistress Radella had been more eager to see her, which now it all began to make sense. _That’s_ why she wanted to monitor her. She must’ve known that Natalya was the lost princess and wanted to protect her from the descendants of the ancestral witches getting to her. 

The biggest thing that mainly caught her attention was the fact that her birth family was still alive as well. She didn’t know where they were, but she had an older sister! And an older brother! Her mother was very well alive as well, the proof being in her own dreams.

The way her mother would beg in her dreams to protect the powers if anyone were to find out…

…And she refused to let these witches win this fight.

“You can’t…” Natalya began breathing slowly now. As the seconds passed, her eyes became heavier. What she hadn’t been realizing was that while the witches were closely examining her, her energy was weakening from the restraint, “…you can’t take my power… I have to… protect it…”

“It’s not up to you, Natalya.” The grip on her chin was let go by Gelinda who had taken a step back. The two witches were at her side now, as if they were beginning to prepare their enchantment, “You know who she reminds me a lot of?”

“The queen,” Aviana and Nebula had said in unison as the leader of the witches nodded.

“She has her hair, her face shape… The nose, ears, and skin…” Gelinda expressed and lowered her hands, “And those violet-blue eyes come from her father. That piercing, tough look… It always pissed me off as a child when he gave speeches on television because he looked so strict and scary.” 

The witches laughed at this now. They were talking about her parents, right…? It made her a bit happy to hear that she looked like her mother and father. Natalya wondered what they looked like… She wondered what her older siblings looked like as well. Her brother must’ve been a spitting image of their father, and her sister must have looked like their mother a lot. 

It was during this time that she thought to herself that she didn’t even realize that the witches were holding hands to begin the ritual of obtaining her power, “I’m sorry, Princess. But the fact is that it’s not up to you to protect it when the power rightfully belongs to our coven of darkness.”

The entire house went pitch black dark. Natalya’s eyes had shot open when realizing that it was dark. All she could see had been the sight of glowing magic coming from the surrounding witches. She had to get out of there, fast. There was no way they could take her power…

…No, not this soon! 

In the air, a large crystal had formed above her. It had been flashing brightly, over and over again as if it were signaling the witches that there was a powerful source of energy amongst them. The crystal floated directly under Natalya, before soon lowering towards her chest where her heart had been located.

“Let’s get this over with,” Nebula growled underneath her breath. “This will be like taking lunch from a middle schooler.”

“If I could feel sorry for her, I would.” Gelinda signaled the other two witches once they had locked hands with one another. The dark energy in that living room had continued to grow more and more, to the point where it felt like Natalya was unable to breathe. With their hands together, they had held it over the girl, praising the crystal as it continued to glow. The more it glew, the more Natalya began to struggle under the restraints, “Must suck learning that you’re a Princess of a dead planet, and now, you’re going to go back to being a worthless human on this sad planet.”

Natalya had attempted to use her own magic, but she was too weak. The fairy groaned and screamed loudly in hopes that someone would come and stop them because she couldn’t let this happen.

If they were speaking the truth of her being a guardian fairy, she was failing.

“ _Crystals of the ancestral witches, dark magic from the dark lord!”_ The witches had all shouted as they held their hands right at Natalya, “ _Reach inside Natasha Braginskaya and steal Sparx’s power of the dragon flame and heart of ice within!”_

That was when she felt it. With a burst of magic directly hitting Natalya, a loud scream came from her as tears formed in her eyes. As she did so, her eyes had been glowing a bright light while the magic began to be stripped from her. It felt like something had been ripping out of her. Her heart had been beating rapidly as her screams became louder and louder. 

The only sight of what looked to be a bright, glowing orb of magic came directly from her heart and had been floating in front of her. Within seconds, the power orb had been sucked in by the crystal, leaving for her entire fairy appearance to shift back immediately to an ordinary human.

If this what it was like to have power ripped away, it was painful. She wouldn’t complain if someone decided to kill her then and there because it was absolutely unbearable. A piece of herself was being forcibly stripped away and there was nothing she could do about it. 

Loud laughter came from the witches once the spell had completed itself. It was there that Natalya while still in restraints had completely lost her wings. Her fairy form - faded completely - while her eyes continued to grow of tears.

“Piece of cake,” Aviana couldn’t help but grin at the sight of Natalya slowly falling into an unconscious state.

“Let’s get out of here,” Gelinda began and snapped her fingers before a portal had appeared, “We don’t need her anymore.” 

A few seconds later after they had summoned the portal, the witches were gone, leaving an unconscious Natalya to be released from her restraints and onto the ground.

After the whole incident that had taken place that evening, Natalya had been passed out completely. She had not been in the best physical condition; especially after what had happened with the witches obtaining her power. While in her unconscious state she felt sick to her stomach and didn’t even know if she could get up. 

* * *

_ Everything in her mind was completely clear. It was bright and foggy. Taking a glance down at herself, Natalya noticed that she had been wearing normal clothes. She hadn’t transformed into a fairy as she would in dream sequences in the past. The air was hard to breathe in, but she pushed herself to begin walking.  _

_ That was when she began to hear it. It sounded as if a beautiful voice had been calling out to her. It was faint at first, though the more she had walked forward, the louder and clearer it began. _

_"Where the north wind meets the sea._

_There's a river, full of memory._

_Sleep my darling safe and sound..._

_…For in this river, all is found."  
_

* * *

_“Natalya!”_

Shaking could be felt against her shoulder while her mind remained in that unconscious state. It felt so soothing to her, that she didn’t want to wake up. Everything hurt, her heart hurt… She felt so lost and incomplete, that only the reassuring voice in her head was enough to bring a sense of healing to her body.

However, the persistence that came from the shaking was clear that she had to wake up. It had turned to the point where her cheeks were being patted a few times, which was enough to indeed stir Natalya awake from her unconscious state. At that moment, she had made the discovery of where she was. 

She was laying on a couch in her family’s living room. A blanket was over her and a pillow was resting behind her head. It took her a moment and a bit of blinking to get her focus in vision, before soon, Natalya had been greeted to the sight of her older sister staring down at her with widened eyes. 

“…Sestra…” Natalya let out a groan of discomfort, which made her sister immediately run off for a moment to go retrieve her father. 

Her brother on the other hand had been unconscious upstairs. Mainly due to the fact that he was horrified out of his mind after seeing the witches not only attempt to kill him but the fact that when he was released from his restraints, seeing Natalya was on the ground shocked him to the point where he fainted.

Natalya reached up to the top of her head where she discovered a rag had been on, before removing it and slowly laying up from her spot. She was at home. So she was safe… However, there was something that didn’t make sense to her at the moment.

Was… What happened all a dream? It felt like more of a real nightmare. But with how horrible she was feeling at that moment, she couldn’t tell what was real or not.

“Natalya…” All she could hear were the words of her father when he had approached her and hugged her tightly. This startled the girl at first before she naturally found herself hugging the other and taking in deep breaths. It was her father alright, so there was nothing that she needed to worry about, “I was so scared… Are you okay? Are you hurt? Does anything hurt?”

“…everything’s blurry,” She groaned in response as she held onto her head. It was almost similar to experiencing a really bad hangover. But, worse seeing that she felt that a piece of her was missing.

What she wasn’t expecting though was the sight of something glowing behind her father. With her eyes widened, she reached over and used her arm to protect her father from whatever it was. Not again - she couldn’t deal with those witches! What did they want with her now!?

“ _Natalya, Natalya, Natalya…_ ” 

That voice… It wasn’t one of the witches' voices Upon looking up, the girl’s eyes had been met by a familiar face who had been a fairy. Not just any fairy, but one who looked very angered. The portal behind the fairy who had entered the room had faded into the air, leaving her standing there in what seemed to be in casual attire.

“ _You can’t ever run away from me! You know that if you ever ran from Lenfia I’ll happily drag your ass back. Three days have been enough, I’m bringing you back._ ” 

“Florentyna…” Natalya’s expression softened upon seeing her best friend. Oh, if there was one person that she was desperate to see at that moment, it was her.

The sight of Natalya’s pale expression and the tears in her eyes wasn’t the exact scenario that Florentyna had when she arrived on earth. That was when her instincts of a friend kicked in. She dropped the scepter she had in her hands that she had originally used to open up the portal to turn back into her ring. There, the ring was slipped onto her finger and she had rushed over to the other’s side.

“Natalya…!” Florentyna had gasped and looked at the other’s appearance, “What happened to you!? And what happened to this place! It looks like someone just came and destroyed everything! And it wasn’t even me,” She began, which received an angry glare from Vladik. Florentyna chuckled nervously at this before she gave a little apologetic wave before looking back at her friend, “Are you okay?” 

Hearing the question was enough for the realization to hit Natalya.

Her powers… She couldn’t feel them anymore. She always felt so secure with herself and her powers, but… It was gone. The positive energy, the feeling of being safe and secure in her body. It felt empty. All of it felt empty and lost.

“No… no, I’m not okay,” Natalya began and held onto her face to process what just happened, “The witches… Gelinda, Aviana, Nebula… They… They took my powers. They came and stole the dragon flame and heart of ice!” 

Florentyna’s expression softened when hearing this. Mostly out of horror at the mentioning of the witches, but the part with the dragon flame and heart of ice was new. She knew that Natalya had originally studied it when the witches had attempted to pursue her power of the Solis ring, but she never imagined Natalya being the one to have an association with those powers. If she remembered correctly, the dragon flame and heart of ice was said to have died along with its former guardian fairy. 

What did Natalya have to do with it anyway?

It wasn’t the best question to ask. Right now, she needed to make sure her friend was okay, 

“Natalya,” Florentyna began with a smile and cupped her friend’s cheek. She’d ask her questions later on what happened, but for now, it seemed that the other needed comfort more than more stress and questioning, “Don’t worry. You know, if you have the power of the dragon flame and heart of ice, I heard that it’s the most powerful magic in the entire dimension… Which means you’re the most powerful fairy of all universes. Let’s fight back, babe.” 

“But…”

“If we work together, we may be able to find a way to destroy the witches once and for all, and make sure they never take something that belongs to you,” Florentyna continued with her little speech with a smile on her face, “Tatyana, Mei, and Monika have been worried sick about you. I’m sure if we explain what happened, they’ll be on board with helping you get your powers back.”

How could she be so positive at a time like this? Natalya expected for Florentyna to be more pissed than happy to see her in the first place.

“Florentyna’s right,” Vladik had spoken out, which resulted in the two girls to look up at the Russian male. He had reached over to pat his daughter’s head reassuringly, “I think you should go back to Lenfia and talk to the administrators there. They’re experienced with this sort of thing so they’ll be able to help you and your friends.”

“And once we get them back,” Florentyna smiled and sat down beside her friend; wrapping an arm around her, “We’ll go out and help you with finding your past as well. Now that you know what powers you possess, we can start to look for the answers to your questions.”

They were right… Maybe she needed to enter this difficult battle with a smile on her face. Consider it an inconvenience that the witches took her power in the first place. Thus, resulting in her to nod in agreement while rubbing her eyes.

There was no time to be mourning over the loss. No, Florentyna was right. She had to fight back for it.

“…I promise,” Natalya looked up at the others and took in a steady breath, “I’m going to make those witches pay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!~ It's been a while!
> 
> Unfortunately, I had to delay the release of this chapter a handful of times due to my laptop being broken and having to be sent in for repairs. Now I have it back, so I can get back to writing the story! (I'm seriously so excited to continue onwards).
> 
> This was a bit of an intense chapter... If you think this was intense, you're in for a treat.
> 
> Chapter 11 will be released on 06/15/2020. 
> 
> Until then, see you soon! :)


	12. The Destruction of the Magical Dimension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And once we get them back,” Florentyna smiled and sat down beside her friend; wrapping an arm around her, “We’ll go out and help you with finding your past as well. Now that you know what powers you possess, we can start to look for the answers to your questions.”
> 
> They were right… Maybe she needed to enter this difficult battle with a smile on her face. Consider it an inconvenience that the witches took her power in the first place. Thus, resulting in her to nod in agreement while rubbing her eyes.
> 
> There was no time to be mourning over the loss. No, Florentyna was right. She had to fight back for it.
> 
> “…I promise,” Natalya looked up at the others and took in a steady breath, “I’m going to make those witches pay.”

Returning to the campus grounds of Lenfia felt so weird to her. Despite not being there for only a few days, she didn’t know if she should even be considered a student.

Seeing fairies on the campus play with their own magic… She couldn’t even do that. She was a normal human on a campus that was meant for magical creatures. Without her powers, what exact category would she be in? 

All of the students who had been outside immediately froze when seeing Natalya enter the campus grounds again with Floretyna. By the exhausted expression on her face, it was enough of an indicator to show that she was not okay. 

After the incident back on earth, her family gave her a day to recover before sending her back to Lenfia with Florentyna to have this situation figured out. Physically and mentally she wasn’t well. It was as if she felt a part of her being ripped out of her soul. 

The wind blew against them while Florentyna kept an arm around her friend to help her walk. She knew that Natalya was a bit slower now due to the damage of the witches, so she had to treat her carefully until her body was strong enough to go back and fight them for her power. 

Their first stop was their dorm upstairs. Since Florentyna had left to go retrieve Natalya, a very worried Tatyana, Monika and Mei had been staying up waiting for their return. 

Keys were taken out from Florentyna’s pocket when she had approached the door. From there, she had unlocked it and allowed for Natalya to go in first before closing the door behind them. The very first thing the two girls were greeted to had been the concerned faces that belonged to their friends. 

Part of Natalya was expecting a lashing for leaving all of a sudden. But instead, something else happened.

Tatyana was the first to approach Natalya and give her a hug. Florentyna had been the one to call them and exactly tell them what she had walked into when she arrived on earth to retrieve Natalya. Natalya was weak, there was an ambush by the witches, and things weren’t okay. 

Thus, when the two girls did arrive, all of them wanted to check on two immediately. 

The unexpected hug was immediately accepted by Natalya. Even if she was gone for just a few days, so much had happened on Earth that she didn’t know how to feel. Followed by Tatyana’s hug came a hug from Monika then Mei…. Before it all transitioned into a large group hug. 

The girls in the dorm were all in their pajamas as well. When noticing this, Natalya was more worried about accidentally waking them up… Which when she was about to say something, she had been silenced by Tatyana covering her mouth with a finger.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” She reassured the other in her gentle soothing tone. Every time, Tatyana always was known to be the gentle kind of person with her personality. Which made sense seeing that she was the fairy of nature, “You don’t look so good, so let’s have you lay down and have some tea, okay?” 

“Oh, Natalya…” Mei had pulled back from the hug, her expression being full of sadness. Already she could tell that her friend was tired. After all, who wouldn’t be after a tragic event on Earth? “I have to agree with Tatyana. You really don’t look good - maybe we have some leftoverenergy potions you can take—-”

It was almost as if on cue when Mei had said this that there had been a loud knock on the door. Seeing that they didn’t have a chance to answer the door, the door had opened for them all to see an individual they were all not expecting to see. 

“ _Ms. Arlovskaya,_ ” The woman’s voice began as she glared down at the younger fairies whose eyes were full of panic upon realizing who it was. It was as if the administration had figured out that Natalya and Florentyna returned this quick, which had Radella send her messenger dog after the girls. All Natalya could think of was the possible chance of getting in trouble for running off in the first place, “You may have your tea session with your friends _after_ you go see Headmistress Radella. Right now.” 

“Ms. Glynda, please,” Tatyana had begun with a concerned tone, which caught her attention, “Natalya’s not well right now. Her body’s drained. May we come with her at least?”

“What do you mean, _drained_?” The serious expression that was once on the administrator’s face slowly began to transition into a concerned one. While it still looked scary of course, her eyes showed that now she was genuinely worried about the girl, “Did something happen?” 

Did Florentyna not tell the administrators what happened on earth? An annoyed glare was given by Natalya as she looked at Florentyna, who held her hands up innocently before she sighed heavily. The issue was that Florentyna had only told their friends… No one else. 

“It’s fine,” Natalya began and pulled herself away from the group, “I’ll tell them what happened. Just wait here.” 

Her group of friends did not like that response from her at all. 

When Natalya had left with the administrator to go to the office, part of her felt ashamed for lying. She had lied to her Professors, but especially Radella who seemed to have trusted her. What was she supposed to do? It was as if walking with Glynda down to the office was her way of walking to her chamber of death.

Even if Natalya was taken away from her friends, that didn’t stop them from following the girl and administrator. Mei, Tatyana, and Monika had quickly changed into casual attire before following the two women. Glynda may have said it was a meeting for Natalya and the headmistress, _but_ she didn’t even get to say no when they asked to join in the meeting. 

They were fortunate to see that there was no one at the front desk to see them sneak in the main offices. However, the part that didn’t work in their favor had been the doors of Radella’s office being closed by the time they arrived. Already Natalya and Glynda had walked inside, which meant all the fairies could do was press their ears up to the door to hear the conversation that was taking place.

Natalya was expecting was to have a full-blown lecture by the headmistress for running off the second she walked into those doors. Her chair was turned back to her, which clearly wasn’t a good sign at all. Though instead of being yelled at first, one thing Natalya was shocked to see was Glynda bringing over what looked like a kettle and an empty cup. 

The cup was placed in front of Natalya after she was seated in front of the desk, where tea was poured into it, “Here,” Glynda had motioned for her to drink it, which she did so without any sort of hesitation, “It’s a healing tea. It’ll give you energy.”

That was the most shocking thing she had ever experienced from Glynda. The queen of detention, the one who punished fairies for misbehaving was trying to take care of her? She swore if she had told this to her friends, especially Florentyna, they would laugh at her face. Alas, she sipped the tea and looked at the administrator with a nod, “…Thank you.”

Silence came from Radella while Natalya was drinking the tea. Her chair was still turned away from the girl. If anything, she was absolutely disappointed. When she had high hopes for the girl and she had decided to run away before she could get a chance to learn more about herself?

Or perhaps, she had been acting a bit selfish… Lying to the girl as well about the examination with her and her professors being one to determine if she was the lost Princess. 

“Alright then,” Radella had turned over to face Natalya who had already finished her tea and was holding onto an empty cup, “Glynda told me you aren’t well, so I’d like to make this quick. Could you tell me what happened?” 

Tell her what happened… All of that entire battle between her and the witches? Her eyes widened almost in horror, which was noted by the headmistress as she leaned over in interest. If she was going to tell it, then she shouldn’t be holding onto that tea because just the thought of it made her angry. Thus, resulting in her to place the cup of tea down onto the table.

“I went back to Earth, ma’am,” Natalya had answered in a lowered tone, “I didn’t feel like I was good enough for this school since the incident at UHB… Everyone was talking about me and I couldn’t stand it. I already got it enough growing up, so I figured I needed a bit of time to reflect on myself without any magic around me.” 

Radella’s expression softened. So, she ran because the pressure from the community got to her. She thought that Natalya would be able to handle it, but then again, she was just a girl from Earth and never received much publicity before, “Oh Natalya…” She crossed her arms when hearing this, “But something else has happened. I can see it in your eyes,” 

There was sad energy that radiated from the girl. During previous encounters, Radella was able to easily pinpoint powerful energy that came from Natalya. This time, she could feel nothing. She was only greeted by the sadness present in her eyes and the paled expression. 

She looked like she was in defeat.

“Yes.” There was no lying at this point. If Natalya had acted like everything was okay, how could she just move on from it? Her hands were in fists now before looking over at the headmistress; making direct eye contact with her now, “Being on earth was a journey in itself. But I now know who I _really_ am. And I really wish I hadn’t.” 

Radella’s eyes widened and Glynda couldn’t help but choke on her breathing when hearing such a statement. Did that mean…?

“I found out the truth.” When seeing the concerned expressions on the both administrator’s expressions, Natalya’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Why were they so worried about what she was going to say? “I’m not just a girl from Earth, am I?” There, she stood up and glared directly at the headmistress, “ _I’m_ the last princess of Sparx. The rulers of this magical dimension’s youngest child, right? When I was born, my mother… gave up her powers to me so that I would be the guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice.”

“Natalya—” 

“And my real name isn’t even _Natalya_ , is it?” She continued and sat down. At that point, she had brought her hands up to her head. The pain from when the witches had attacked her was still there, but she had to tell someone everything before her mind exploded, “Natasha Braginskaya was my given birth name. I’m King Viktor and Queen Alyona’s daughter, but nobody knows it at all. They all think I died back when the war took place years ago.” 

Glynda’s mouth had been covered when hearing the information. At the same time, she had been glancing over at Radella who was even more shocked that Natalya had found out the truth about her. How were they going to explain to her properly that what she was saying was indeed all true?

“And my mother…” Natalya slouched in her seat slightly, “She sacrificed her life to protect me and my siblings. My older sister sent me to earth so the ancestral witches wouldn’t find and kill me. Now, my father sacrificed his life to protect our family, and my sister, brother, and mother are nowhere to be found. When I learned that the royal family of the magic dimension was all missing, I thought that was absolutely terrible. The last thing I _ever_ imagined was that I was one of the missing royal children! In my dreams too - Alyona, she wasn’t just any voice… That was my mother speaking to me!”

Tears were beginning to form in her eyes again. It was a horrible back-story to discover her true self. Now that she knew she wasn’t from Earth and was a lost princess, she was honestly way too speechless to do something about it. All she could think of was going after the ancestral witches and getting her revenge on them for not only putting her birth family into so much suffering but for having her experience the pain of learning all of this. 

“Natalya…” Radella sighed and lowered her hands now. How could she explain this to her properly without having the girl freak out even more than she already was? “ _How_ did you find all of this information out?” 

That’s right. She didn’t search and find it on her own. The witches who had come and attacked her on earth were the ones who spilled the information just to get her in a weak state so they could obtain her powers.

And they got away with the plan.

Natalya rubbed her eyes and took in a deep breath, “The descendants of the ancestral witches, headmistress,” She answered in a calm tone, “Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula came to earth and attacked me, demanding that I give up my powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice. They trapped me… And they took away the powers I was meant to protect. They have a crazed look in their eye. It’s thisstrange light is shining in them and they’re planning something big with it.”

The information was enough for Radella to reach underneath her desk slowly. Underneath, there had been a blue button that was used in the case of emergencies. This would contact all authorities of the magical dimension to put their guards on high alert. Because if these witches were the descendants of the ancestral witches, they could try and do what the witches years ago planned on doing once they had the power.

She pressed it quickly before pulling her hand back out. It was there that she turned to Glynda whose expression was horrified before standing up, “Glynda, cancel all classes for today. Contact Evanora and Elijah to get all authorities of the magical dimension to know that we’ve confirmed that Natalya is the princess and need to find those witches as soon as we can.”

“Yes ma’am,” The woman nodded and quickly ran out of the office, doing exactly what she was told.

This left Natalya in a state of confusion. Was there something going on that she didn’t know about? She didn’t mean to put Lenfia or anyone in high alertness… But by the expression that Radella was giving her, it was clear that this was a situation that they all had been prepared for.

“Natalya… I’m going to be very honest with you,” Radella began and looked at the emotional girl who had been speechless at this point, “I’m relieved to hear that you finally discovered the truth about yourself… and I don’t want you to panic either. But if you’re telling me that the witches have the dragon flame and heart of ice, you are in danger.”

_Finally discovered the truth?_

What was that supposed to mean?

“Finally discovered the truth?” Natalya stood up and glared at the woman with frustration drawing to her expression. This wasn’t good at all from Radella’s point of view, “Are you telling me that you _knew_ since the beginning that I was the lost princess!? And you _didn’t_ tell me!?” 

Bingo. 

Radella’s expression softened as she turned away from the child now. Yes, she knew all along that Natalya was possibly the lost child of the former rulers of the magical dimension. She just didn’t have enough information to confirm it due to the fact that she didn’t know a lot about Natalya’s powers. 

“…It was a situation where I was unsure,” Radella began in response to that statement. She turned over to Natalya, who was still flustered and confused about the entire situation, “It was why I had asked you if you could go to the examination session with Professor Polonium. He was going to evaluate your powers and if the examination determined that your powers were indeed the dragon flame and heart of ice, I would have told you.”

How did she know that she was the princess? Let alone, what were the signs that made Radella think that she was the princess of the magical dimension? 

Radella could see the confusion in Natalya’s eyes. And so, she continued to speak, “Alyona was one of my closest friends. A sister of different blood, we can say,” She explained to the other while reaching over to pour herself a cup of tea, “I was there when she got married. I was there when your older sister and brother were born, and I was also there for your birth as well.” 

The headmistress was a family-friend? Was that it? Did she know her mother for a long time that through instinct, she could recognize the daughter of the lost kingdom instantly? 

“When I first saw that you came to this campus, I was a bit unsure of who exactly you were, Natalya,” Radella continued. At this point, she already had brought the cup of tea to her lips and began taking sips out of it, “Your professors noticed your strong power during training sessions, which was when they brought it to my attention. When you had told me you were having dreams, then in that dream sequence I took you on where Alyona was there, that’s when I began to think… _Did Natasha really survive the attack on Sparx?”_

More information about her past… Just hearing it being explained to her was pulling Natalya’s heart. It sickened her how things have turned out. She could have had a normal life growing up as a princess, with her birth family who seemed to have loved and cared for her so much. 

“Everyone in the magical dimension has been heartbroken since then. Your family was so loved by the people. They cared and helped as much as they could… Even Alyona would take the time out of her busy schedule to visit families that were in need,” Radella explained and lowered her cup of tea now onto the table, “When I saw you, all I saw was Alyona. The same motivation and determination to grow and learn. The part that I just couldn’t figure out was your affiliation on Earth… Because I believed for so long that my god-daughter was deceased. That was until you told me you were adopted.”

She wasn’t just the headmistress of her school. Radella wasn’t just an administrator or family-friend of her mother’s — she was her godmother! An individual that her mother had trusted so much that if something had ever happened to her, that Radella is the one to take care of Natasha at all costs.

“…You’re my… god-mother?” Were the first words that managed to come out of the girl’s mouth. 

The headmistress could tell that the child was shocked. But if she wanted Natalya to understand the situation at hand, she had to tell her the truth completely.

“Yes.” She took in a deep breath, “Prior to becoming headmistress here at Lenfia, I served as a fairy godmother in a group called the Company of Light. This group was known as the guardians to serve and protect the Princess with the dragon flame and heart of ice. We first served for Alyona, but then after the tragedy, we disbanded due to believing the entire royal family in addition to the dragon flame and heart of ice was dead. But my biggest task, Natalya, was to protect you if something were to ever happen to your parents.”

Even though they were technically having a small reunion in the office, if what she was saying is the truth, then Radella also had the duty to protect the Princess now. It all made sense as to why the headmistress dismissed Glynda so quickly to alert the dimension’s authorities. She was sending a warning to the rest of the magical dimension that the lost princess was officially found and they had to capture the witches before anything else happened. 

“What’s going to happen, then?” Natalya looked up at the other; the shock still present on her expression, “What are we going to do?” 

“…To proceed with the plan that was decided after the attack on Sparx if we were to ever relocate you,” Radella stood up and motioned for Natalya to stand up from her seat. Followed by this, she smiled at the girl gently and placed a hand on her shoulder, “To protect the Princess. But right now, the magical dimension is in danger if the witches have possession of your power, which is why I need you to stay here where we can protect you. Once these witches proceed with their plan, and if it’s to continue off where the ancestral witches left off…

…that means they’ll make sure to finish the task of killing you.” 

The witches would come after her. That would make sense. The ancestral witches despised the royal family due to having the powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice. With how they were so loved by the magical dimension, the witches wanted the entire family eliminated. They succeeded in destroying the king and putting the queen into a dark curse, but the three children of the family lived.

Natalya must’ve been on the top of their list. With her being the first located of the three siblings, once they formed enough power, they would go after her and finish the task that was once decided years ago.

Radella led the girl out of the office. With how things are, she decided to escort Natalya back to her dorm where her friends were. 

_“The witches will never have you so long I am standing,”_

* * *

Student witches and warlocks had been walking down the campus with textbooks in hand, robes, witch hats, and wands to indicate that they were all going to their own individual classes. The Tower of the Dead, a university for the dark arts just miles away from Lenfia’s campus was a school meant for witches and warlocks who had an interest in the practice of dark magic. While the school was indeed one for darker users, one of the biggest rules of them existing is to never interfere with the magical dimension.

Witches were freely able to use magic as much as they wanted so long as it didn’t bring any harm to individuals. Unless a fairy were to walk on a witches’ or warlock’s turf, then they were free to do whatever he or she so desires to it.

Outside the campus, it wasn’t hard for three powerful individuals to sneak their way in. All they had to do was simply hold their hands out and blast a hole through the wall of one of the buildings to enter. 

Their entrance was very unexpected. The witches who were once walking on the ground were all frantically running off to grab their brooms so they could fly away as quickly as they could.

As all of the student witches had been running off to avoid confrontation, the administrators of the school had quickly run over to where the hole had been exposed in the building. Even Evanora, the headmistress of the school had run over with the professors and her assistants to see what was exactly going on.

The source of what had caused the spark of chaos had led to the assistants being greeted to the sight of Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula standing beside one another.

“What are you three doing!?” One of the assistants had shouted upon seeing the third-year students, “This is absolutely unacceptable!” 

“Oh, what are you going to do?” Aviana had snarled at the administrator with a smirk grown to her lips, “Give us detention?” 

That was enough for Aviana had flown into the air as her eyes glowed with power. Flames had appeared from the edge of her eyes which had definitely caught the administrator’s attention. Before they even had the chance to defend themselves, the witch had held her hands up into the air and soon flames began shooting at the ground from the sky.

Student witches had been screaming and continuing to run away in horror while Gelinda and Nebula witnessed the scene in laughter of their own. Upon seeing that the student witches were in trouble, this was when Evanora had stepped in.

She ran in front of the two administrators and held her hands out as glowing magic appeared from them. If the witches wanted to fight darkness with darkness, so be it. 

“ _Alohomora_!” Evanora shouted. One by one, each witch had vanished due to her sending them to a safe room in the basement of the school. 

There was something going on. All of a sudden, her students were causing an ambush to their peers? What had gotten into them?! Since the suspension, she knew some witches not being happy nor in favor of it… And she assumed that Gelinda, Nebula, and Aviana were fine after their punishment came to an end for harassing fairies…

…But now they brought destruction to the school? Perhaps she should have listened to Radella in the first place.

Alas, she closed her eyes to cast another spell. This spell is in the form of a message through connecting with her students’ minds, telling each one of them that there was an escape route that would bring them to Lenfia. 

_Find the route and escape through there quickly_. 

Prior to her arrival to seeing the witches, Evanora had received the alert from Lenfia. It was good news to hear that finally after weeks of studying the girl, it was confirmed that the lost Princess was located. 

Which also meant that she was in grave danger. 

All students were to report to Lenfia immediately for safety while authorities of the magical dimension would be going after the three descendants of the ancestral witches. 

What she wasn’t expecting was for when she received the message from Radella to be true. As many citizens of the dimension believed, the royal family was dead. However, that wasn’t the apparent cause. The news hadn’t gone around other than to members of Magix’s council, which included the heads of each school, but it was enough for Evanora to know why the three witches were there.

She landed on the ground and made eye contact with the three witches. All she could see had been the flames that had formed around the edges of their eyes as a powerful aura came from them.

No… It couldn’t be true. 

So they did successfully go after the princess and steal her power.

“How dare you break into my school like this?!” Evanora had shouted with an angered glare to her expression. If she could hold them off until authorities could arrive, then maybe there could be a chance to save the school, “How dare you to go after the Princess?!” 

“Oh, the Princess? That was a piece of cake,” Gelinda began as she held her hands out in the direction of their former headmistress. Soon, ice had been flying from her direction as a loud groan was given by Evanora. What the witch had done was put a spell on the headmistress to keep her pinned up to a wall with a sheet of ice, “Pretty cool, huh?” She questioned, “Princess Natasha’s magic is so wonderful. I get to use spells that I never had the chance to use before.” 

It was followed by this that Aviana had flown up into the air. With being the witch who had the powers of telekinesis, she soon held her hands up and a dark orb began to form. If one person were to look at it, they would fall into her spell of becoming part of their army.

“Witches and Warlocks of the Tower of the Dead!” Gelinda had shouted with a devilish grin on her face, “There will be immediate changes to the school beginning now! First of all, all of you will be sent to the dungeons of the school while we go and look at the most darkest spells of the entire magical dimension.”

“No…” Evanora’s eyes widened when she heard this. She glanced over at Gelinda and Nebula who had to make direct eye contact with the Headmistress, “You mustn’t. You can’t use those spells! What do you plan on using it for anyway!?”

“Easy. To summon the Army of Decay. First, to kill the Princess. Secondly, to make sure every magical being on this dimension bows down to us, starting off with this school,” Nebula followed-up the statement before flying into the air beside Aviana, “Headmistress, we happily accept having the Tower of the Dead as our own.”

The Army of Decay!? Evanora had stood up, keeping her guard up while her hands had formed into fists, “You mustn’t! The Army of Decay is only creatures used by the dark lord that can bring disaster to not only innocent people but to us witches in our covens!”

The issue was that the witches didn’t care. Their minds had been determined that since they had the greatest power of the magic dimension, their witch covens wouldn’t need them at all.

“So? We also announce today that we’ll be the new leaders of the magical dimension,” Gelinda finished the statement off. By glancing down at the administrators from the air, she could tell that everyone had been horrified. Good, it was exactly the way she wanted it, “The Braginskaya family will be wiped from existence…

_…Once we have those spells, we will destroy the Princess and gain the throne that belongs to us._ ” 

All it took was the snap of Gelinda’s fingers for one by one, each witch that didn’t make it to the basement of the school to vanish and be transported to the dungeons. Even Evanora and the administrators of the school as well had managed to be sent along to the dungeons.

The witches only had little time though. Already they had detected that Evanora had requested the authorities of the magical dimension to come to university quickly. The sooner they retrieved those spells and formed the Army of Decay, they could begin their raid. 

When everyone was out of their sight, they had traveled to the headmistress’ office where all of the dark spells were kept. There had been a shelf where a few locks had been keeping these spells safe. These locks could be only opened by magic or a key. Since they had the possession of the dragon flame, naturally, of course, it wasn’t hard for them to crack it open.

There was one book that was needed to summon the Army. Laughter was given by Gelinda as she snapped her fingers and the shelf had immediately opened by her demand. It wasn’t hard to spot out the said book, seeing that it had been glowing and disgusting creatures had been crawling all over it. 

“Here it is…” Gelinda began and reached for it. In her hands, she opened up to the exact page of where she and her sisters could find the spell to summon the army. 

She placed the book onto the headmistress’ desk and examined the information properly. It would be easy for them to summon it now that they had the dragon flame and heart of ice. All creatures, even ones from the dark lord of their coven, would bow down to that power. 

All three witches began examining the book properly for their contents. The summoning spell for the army was indeed very complicated, but with the help of the Princess’ power, they should be able to succeed.

They all sat on the ground while holding onto each other’s hands as a part of beginning the ritual.

“Now, sisters…” Gelinda began as she closed her eyes, which Aviana and Nebula followed in the lead. 

A wave of dark magic had surrounded the three girls and grew larger as the seconds passed. Around them, two dragons in the shades of orange and white had been circling around the witches as if it were bowing down to them.

“Today is the day where we first attack the schools of Magix. The University of Heroics and Bravery for heroes and Lenfia College for fairies,” Gelinda had spoken out while keeping her eyes closed, “Tomorrow, we attack the city of Magix… And the next day, we attack each world of the magical dimension one. by. one.” 

Laughter filled their circle when they had all reached in an agreement with that statement. This was only the beginning of their raid of the magical dimension and becoming the most powerful witches of the magical dimension. 

There would be no more existence to the Braginsky name. They would be the only rulers with their future generations continuing onwards. 

As the seconds passed, loud creatures could be heard outside the Tower of the Dead. This meant that the spell was indeed working. The witches held their hands up into the air as the sounds of the creatures of the dark continued to grow and grow.

_“Creatures of the darkness, we summon thy to come and raid the schools of Magix! Starting off at the University of Heroics and Bravery!”_

The incantation was said aloud in unison by the three witches. By just conducting this enchantment, it was enough of a beginning to place the magical dimension in a state of danger. 

Dark clouds began to form in the air. As the clouds formed, came the creatures of the dead beginning to rise from the ground screeching and screaming at the rain that had begun to fall. The storm from the army had already begun at the Tower of the Dead, but rainclouds soon began to form over Lenfia’s campus. 

Despite the witches just now summoning the army of darkness, the school was prepared. Natalya’s warning to the headmistress was enough to get authorities jumping straight into work with traveling to the Tower of the Dead, while Lenfia had followed emergency protocols with setting up the magical security. 

There could not be any panic. For Radella, the last thing she needed was for her students to be panicked and try to run off. After all, she had no idea what the witches could be planning. So when a magical barrier had gone up around the school, a majority of fairy students who seemed to be walking around between classes made the assumption that the barrier was placed up due to potential raid.

However, the truth had been that it was set there as a precaution for the witches attacking. 

Not only was Lenfia College prepared, but the University of Heroics and Bravery had taken steps to accomplish lockdown mode. All of the classes for the next couple of days were unexpectedly canceled, leaving a majority of the student heroes in dismay. 

No one had known what was going on. Security had built up around the schools, yet students were in a position of trying to figure out what was exactly going on.

While the chaos had been ensuing with authorities trying to set emergency protocols, Natalya was ordered by Radella to stay in her dorm and rest. She was already in a weakened state from her powers being forcefully taken from her - it was the least she could do during this time. 

With Natalya resting, this gave her friends the opportunity to at least get a better understanding of what had happened since she had been dismissed from the meeting with Radella. They had already gotten the rundown from Florentyna how she was the lost princess of the magical dimension. All of it was indeed shocking to the group, but they held their questions back. Instead, right now their priority wasn’t protecting Natalya as the lost Princess - but as a friend who needed comfort.

Natalya was laying in bed with a bowl of soup in front of her that was made by Tatyana. While she ate, Florentyna had been in the process of pulling Natalya’s hair back into a braid. Monika had been scrolling through the television to find a channel that _didn’t_ have news about the ‘princess being found’ to try and distract Natalya, while Mei was eating her own bowl of soup since she was hungry. 

“I appreciate all of your guys’ help, really,” Natalya began while taking another bite out of the soup. At that point, she was close to finishing it and it was helping her feel better. On Earth, after the attack, her father had made her something to eat, but she didn’t have the appetite at the time. Now though? She was starving, “But you need to go out there and prepare for this fight. I feel like shit knowing that these witches are planning something evil.”

“There’s no way we’re leaving you alone,” Monika had spoken out and glanced over at the girl who was laying in bed, “The headmistress asked for us to watch you, so that’s what we’re doing. And you’re not in a good state either, so we’ll leave you alone after you act like your normal self again.” 

“ _How_ can I get back to my normal self, though?” At that point, she already finished off the bowl of soup and proceeded with placing the empty bowl at her bed’s nightstand. She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them, trying to put together the right words to say, “I couldn’t defend myself when I needed my powers the most… Now the entire magical dimension is in danger, and I wasn’t able to fulfill my duty of protecting it.” 

“Hey hey hey hey hey,” Florentyna lowered her hands to Natalya’s face and cupped them. As she did so, she pressed her forehead against the other’s face and narrowed her eyes, “This wasn’t your fault at all. You didn’t know you were the Princess. You didn’t know about your powers either. This entire situation wasn’t your fault at all, which is why once you get stronger we’re going to go get your powers back.” 

Florentyna was always doing her best to always try and look at the light of a situation. That’s why she was the fairy of the sun. She always looked at the positives rather than the negatives. 

Natalya truly appreciated her, unlike others growing up who seemed to put her down. 

What they weren’t expecting to hear while they were all sitting there though was the sound of a phone going off. In this case, it was Florentyna’s phone. The fairy glanced over at the source and picked it up before sitting down next to Natalya, answering it, “Hello?” 

“ _Florentyna_ ,” A male’s voice had come from the other line. It took the fairy only two seconds for her to recognize the voice before she glanced at Natalya with widened eyes. Natalya was confused since she couldn’t even hear who the other was talking to, “Listen, don’t hang up. I _need_ to talk to Natalya.” 

“…Alfred?” Florentyna rose her brows in slight interest, which made Natalya groan loudly and turn to her side, “She’s not well. What’s going on?” 

In front of him, he had been watching the television screen where a news channel had been talking about what had happened within the last couple of hours. Each time he changed to a new channel, it was another news channel covering the story about the magical dimension.

To say the least, finding out that his girlfriend was plastered all around the magic dimension’s media wasn’t the way he imagined getting an update from her. He hadn’t heard from her in days, especially since he had gotten the harsh truth that it was Florentyna who took away Natalya’s phone temporarily. It seemed that her phone was still gone since when Alfred tried calling, no one answered. And so, he had called Florentyna _directly_ while staring at the television screen in his room.

_“Wonderful news has come to the dimension after so many years. The long lost daughter of former King Viktor’s and Queen Alyona’s has been found and located!”_

_“For the longest time, we presumed that our youngest Princess had passed away during the battle on Sparx many years ago.”_

_“Sources have said that the Princess was the girl who had been attacked at the University of Heroics and Bravery’s exhibition days ago.”_

_“However, trouble has been stirring up in the dimension since then. At her home on earth, the Princess was ambushed and attacked by the descendants of the ancestral witches.”_

_“The magical dimension has been on lockdown mode. If anyone is to spot the descendants of the ancestral witches, they are to contact authorities immediately.”_

“—I keep seeing things all over the television about her.” Alfred had been begging at that point, clearly in distress from the whole situation. Natalya was a Princess!? He knew that she had found out she was adopted recently, but the news that she was the lost Princess was the last thing he ever expected to see waking up that morning, “I need to talk to her, just to hear her voice to know if she’s okay,”

Hearing more and more about how she was attacked on earth and that she was the lost Princess of the magical dimension, his anxiety had been at an extremely high level. With Florentyna being in between though with not allowing him to speak to Natalya, obviously, his anxiety would not go away because of it. 

“She can’t talk right now, Alfred, because she’s asleep. I don’t know if the news has covered it, but she was attacked really badly,” Florentyna had explained on the phone in hopes that would be enough to get him to calm down for a second. Sure, Natalya wasn’t really sleeping, but it would at least give them time to process from the call, “When she wakes up, I’ll ask her to call you. Okay? Fair enough?”

Hearing that tone of voice wasn’t one that satisfied Alfred at all. It was almost as if she were trying to get him to hang up… Which he didn’t like at all. All he needed was to know if Natalya was alright. Ever since he had heard the news, he couldn’t even imagine what kind of stress she must’ve been in. 

“…Fine.” Alfred sighed in response. There was no point in pushing it. He didn’t want to bother Natalya if she was stressed out, which was why he wouldn’t argue with Florentyna about it, “…thanks.” 

With a press of a button, the phone call had ended and Alfred slipped the mobile device back into his pocket. That wasn’t enough to satisfy his concern at all. He understood if Natalya needed her rest, but what he had heard from the news was probably the last way he wanted to hear things about what happened.

Especially after hearing from the news instead of her confirming that _she_ was the lost princess of the magical dimension. He couldn’t even imagine how Natalya was feeling at that very moment seeing that already she was suffering so much for trying to find out about her true self. 

A frustrated sigh managed to escape from Alfred as he sat up from his bed. Classes had been unexpectedly canceled for the day, which didn’t bother him. A day off sounded nice, but it also brought distress to his mind by thinking about how Natalya was doing. He figured fresh air would do the trick, seeing that it was a beautiful day outside. He approached his balcony; opening up the door to step out of it and admire the fresh air…

…That was when he began to notice something towards the clouds.

Within seconds of stepping out, the sky grew darker. A negative-sort of energy beginning to fill around the environment of UHB, which he wasn’t phased at all see that he assumed it was rain. However, what changed his mind was seeing a storm beginning to build up in the clouds unexpectedly. Something wasn’t normal… Especially with it being on a beautiful day.

His concerns though at UHB was only a sign for the beginning of the dark spread throughout the planet.

Skies became darker managed to make its way all around Magix. Lights were turned on as a temporary measure to the darkness, but it didn’t stop from the lingering air of darkness to fill the air.

The rain itself wasn’t better either.

Instead of it being simple water droplets, it instead, was much worse. The texture of the rain had been black, almost as if it resembled oil that would be found in something with garbage. Its odor was absolutely foul, that for those who were still outside during the rainstorm had immediately found themselves running back inside. 

It was disgusting. The beautiful day on Magix had begun to turn into one where the weather was matching the response of darker magic in the air. This was not normal at all.

Inside the walls of Lenfia, the administration had already made the decision to cancel courses for the day and prepare the protective barrier. This was made out of the decision of authorities instructing that all schools in Magix be prepared for what may come if it is deemed true that Gelinda, Nebula, and Aviana had the dragon flame and heart of ice. For Radella, she believed it. 

Otherwise, Natalya wouldn’t be in the position that she was in.

Radella’s eyes had been casting over Lenfia’s campus where students had already begun to make their way inside. While the barrier was up to protect the school, the sight of the dark rain was not welcomed at all. She had no idea what it could be, but the sight of it did have a disgusting feeling to it. 

Behind her, her glass orb had been displaying projections of one individual. An older man who seemed to have been sitting in a study, while two other physical figures of her colleagues being present. Receiving the information from Natalya about the witches had her call in an emergency meeting, that needed to be done before anything bad were to happen.

There was a fear of a potential battle to come.

“So now we’ve located the Princess…” Headmaster Elijah had spoken; sitting back in the chair of his study while being protected through Radella’s glass ball, “All authorities are on high alert. What’s our next course of action?” 

Pressing that one button underneath her desk during that one meeting with Natalya had been enough to alert a huge portion of the magical dimension. Not just within Magix, but outside where authorities have since taken over due to the downfall of the King and Queen of Sparx not being able to serve as rulers. It had been determined that these witches were planning an attack. No one knew when or how, but witches are witches.

They will do anything to experience the thrill of murdering the innocent.

“If something happens at UHB,” Radella turned to the device to make eye contact with the older male, “Your men and yourself are welcome here at Lenfia. This is only just in case something happens.” 

There was a silence that came from the man on the other line. It was a good point… Yes, they were prepared for battle. What they weren’t prepared for was in case of an emergency, which is what Radella already had done. If something happened at Lenfia, Kingdoms all throughout the dimension had been prepared to welcome the students to make sure they were safe. 

“What we need to do is make sure that the Princess is able to obtain her powers back,” Radella spoke and turned away from the window. As she did so, she walked over to her desk and took a seat. Things needed to be decided now, “Once she’s strong enough, I’m planning to send her to Sparx where maybe she can find some answers. That way, she could have a clue on how to defeat the witches.” 

This was something that she didn’t want to do. But there was nothing else at that point. They couldn’t just keep Natasha trapped there at Lenfia while she recovers… Once she was well enough, she had to go out and fight. 

If there is one person that is strong enough to defeat any source of darkness, it had to be her.

“What about Evanora?” Professor Polonium interrupted briefly before turning himself to face the headmistress, “Have we received a response from her?”

“….No,” Radella’s head lowered. She was very worried. She had been trying to get in contact with Evanora since Natalya had told her about the witches taking her power. Evanora got the message about having to be on lockdown, but Radella was in an unsure state of what was the status at the Tower of the Dead, “I fear something may have happened.”

…And indeed she was correct.

Evanora and students of the school had been locked down in the dungeons. No one could hear their screams or demands for help. The witches who had taken over the school had been too preoccupied with forming their army outside the school to send over to their first enemy to take care of; the students of the University of Heroics and Bravery. 

Despite the circumstances, chaos hadn’t ensued quite yet at Lenfia. The only chaos that had been taking place was mostly Natalya laying in bed and going back and forth with her thoughts. Being forced into bedrest only made her more eager to get herself up. There was a period where she did get up, though this only allowed for her to notice the weather pattern change outside.

Her brows had risen in surprise seeing the sight. Not only had Lenfia put up the barrier, but black rain had been bouncing right off of it. Just in her suite, she seemed to have been the first one to notice as she had her face pressed up against the window of her room. 

Something was wrong. 

The beautiful skies that were above Lenfia had soon transitioned into clouds of darkness and repetitive lightning. Outside, the rain had been falling hard and quickly. The rain that hit the glass of the window reminded her of oil, which got Florentyna to gag in disgust when she had seen it.

“What- What is going on!?” A disgusted shriek came from Florentyna upon seeing the once beautiful sky turning into something horrendous. 

It wasn’t natural that it was raining like this. However, the rain was only the beginning for those who were witnessing the change in the environment. 

Creatures that were almost similar to bugs began to crawl up the side of the school. Large, foul ones that had grown directly from the ground in holes that looked like portals. Some of them varied in shape, such as large creatures to the tiniest one. What stood out about these creatures had been that they looked like man-eating bugs… Though, they weren’t targeting the school.

Instead, they were all going in the direction of the room that Natalya was in. 

Fortunately, the creatures couldn’t get in due to the glass. But the sight itself was horrifying enough for the girls inside the suite.

Natalya slowly backed away with her eyes widened. Was this what the witches were planning? To summon an army of dark creatures to go after her? She truly felt like she was going to be sick at that point. This had to be a joke. An absolutely terrible joke that was going on.

Loud knocking had ensued from the entrance of their suite. The girls who had been in Natalya and Tatyana’s shared room had turned to the direction of it, where they were greeted to the sight of the door opening. It was one of the university’s security guards; looking frantic and in a hurry. Within seconds of the door opening, this guard had rushed inside the suite and directly towards the room where everyone had been in. 

“Quickly!” He spoke out in a rush, which alerted the group of girls, “The school’s under attack. You all need to evacuate immediately!” 

All of the girls looked at each other and with a nod, they did as they were told. No one had expected for an evacuation to take place, let alone, creatures suddenly attacking the university. How did they manage to bypass the barrier that protected the school, no one knew.

When getting outside though, it was as if a horror movie had come to life. Everywhere there had been creatures of the dark screeching and surrounding the area.

Rushing outside, students have already transformed into their own fairy forms and began attacking the creatures. Attacking them seemed to be what did the trick to stop the multiplication, so the group of girls had looked at each other to contemplate _if_ they would join in.

Disappointment formed on Natalya’s expression upon the realization that she really couldn’t do anything. She didn’t want her friends to not fight because of her, so what she had done was take a step forward and look at the group.

“Go and fight,” She began and noticed a piece of wood on the ground that had fallen from the school due to the creatures attacking it. She picked it up and held it almost like a baseball bat. Time to go back to her original routes when it came to fighting. With her flexibility skills and quick reflexes from doing gymnastics and figure skating all her life, she knew she could fight, “I’ll be okay and defend myself.”

“Wow, aggressive much?” There was a bit of a tease that came from Mei when she noticed the other pick up the wood, “You sure you know how to handle that?”

“Come on, Nat beat up monsters on Earth with sticks. She knows what she’s doing.” Florentyna had laughed, already finished going through the transformation sequence where she had stepped through a portal of light, resulting in her entire appearance to have already changed. 

Her hair had been parted into two low pigtails. On the top of her head, she wore a blue headband that matched the color of the cuffs on her wrist. The top she wore had been a sparkling orange shade that had been tied in a knot on her shoulder while her shorts had matched the said color. Her boots were orange as well, and in her hand, she held the familiar scepter that belonged to her family’s ring.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Natalya promised the other in reassurance. The stick was held in hand firmly while she gazed over at the sight that was taking place on the campus. It was horrific to see such a beautiful school be raided from these creatures of the dark. 

Even if she didn’t have her powers, she would fight alongside her peers as best as she could.

One by one, her friends had already taken on their transformations as well. What were once ordinary young women had turned into ones that radiated powerful energy with a beautiful pair of wings behind their backs.

Tatyana’s hair had gone from being completely down to a beautiful side braid. She had been wearing a dress that was almost similar to the design of a rose. Her skirt had been a light pink similarly to the top with a darker pink on its sides. On her arms, she had pink sleeves that connected to the dress she wore. Her shoes had been a matching pink color to her dress while a pair of light green wings grew from behind her. 

Monika had been wearing a full-on bodysuit for her fairy form in the shades of light and dark violet. Her boots had went up to her knees in a lighter shade of purple, while the sleeves matched with the color of them. The entire bodysuit itself had been a darker shade of violet and on her chest, she wore a brooch that symbolized her powers of technology. And to complete the look, on the top of her head she had been wearing a had that had headphones for her to use any of her computers that ran by magic.

Mei’s hair had transformed into higher pigtails while on the top of her head, she wore pink headphones. Her entire fairy form had been based on her culture from being an Asian descent of the magical dimension. Her colors were similar to the cherry blossoms that grew on her home planet, which had been red. The top she had was connected to the skirt she wore, while her boots had been knee lengthened in the same color.

The four fairies now gave one last look at Natalya before a nod was given by their friend. This was their last confirmation before they jumped into the air and began to defend their school along with the other fairies of Lenfia. 

They had split into two groups of two. Tatyana and Florentyna were one of the groups while Mei and Monika were the second. It was a good strategy since they could defend each other while fighting.

Florentyna had held her scepter up into the air that glew brightly for her first attack. The magic that formed around it had been similar to the shape of a sun, so when she had swung it at the direction of the creatures that were crawling all over the ground, they had vanished instantly.

However, this didn’t stop from more creatures to spawn immediately after the attack.

Tatyana had flown over beside Florentyna with a smile drawn to her lips, “I got this.”

The fairy of nature smiled at her friend while holding her hands out to her side. There, two green orbs had formed in them before she had thrown it at the direction of the ground. Large plants had grown from them and began eating up the monsters from the ground and taking them underneath. 

“The best part?” Tatyana gave a sly grin to the other, indeed proud of the masterpiece she was creating with this spell, “It’s feeding my plants. And soon they’ll be able to use the energy from those creatures to create flowers for the school.” 

In the meantime, Mei and Monika had teamed up; taking out as many monsters as they could one by one. 

Mei’s strategy was to blast music as loud as she could until they evaporated, similarly to her training during the fall semester. With her hands out, she had moved them quickly to form the same flute she had used during the exercise that had been controlled by her magic. With a quick blow of a loud note, groups of the creatures that were exposed to the sharp sound which immediately had them screaming before evaporating into thin air.

Monika had been testing out a new kind of magic that incorporated physical pieces of technology. With the snap of her finger, what looked like disks formed around her and spun. All she had to do was throw one over to one of the larger monsters and have it slapped against them before a large explosion ensued and not only it destroying the monster, but the blast being enough to destroy the surrounding monsters.

An expression of relief formed on Natalya’s face as she watched her friends fight. Magic had been flying back and forth on Lenfia’s campus, which had turned into a battlefield mainly for the fairies to fight the creatures of the darkness. 

Even if she didn’t have magic, once in a while she did swing the wood she had in hand in the direction of the creatures that were going after her.

Magic or not, she would also fight to defend her school. 

Unfortunately for Lenfia, it wasn’t the only university that had been in the process of getting attacked. Miles outside of the campus, it had been a similar case to the University of Heroics and Bravery. Men had been instructed to come outside in battle attire the second monsters had begun to invade the school, which while it was unexpected, now it lead to at least a reasoning for classes to be dismissed for the day. 

UHB had been completely invaded by not as large monsters like the ones at Lenfia. The witches' goal was to get the school for men to evacuate completely. The orders that the monsters received from the witches were to take over the college for heroes which was exactly what they were doing.

This meant that Alfred, Gilbert, Mathias, and Antonio had been part of the fight. They had been in their battle armor; carrying swords and other weapons that they were trained to use in combat. 

Sweat was drenched over Alfred’s face while he swung his sword and used his shield to protect him whenever a monster tried to attack him. The entire time though, all he could think about was the fact that the only reason the witches had been doing this was because they managed to take away Natalya’s power. 

_‘These monsters are probably at Lenfia too…’_ He couldn’t help but think as he took down another creature. However, he knew that Natalya would be okay with her friends. Especially knowing Florentyna for years, that girl knew how to fight. 

Even his team seemed to be really worried about the girls as well. With hearing what was on the news about the princess being located and attacked by the descendants of the ancestral witches, everyone was on high alert and worried. 

“How are you doing man?” A familiar voice had come behind from Alfred after he had once again taken down another monster. 

Upon turning around, it was enough for the younger man to see who was speaking out to him, “All good Gil. How about yourself?” 

“I think we’re doing great, actually,” Gilbert couldn’t help but to smile at his best friend and pat his shoulder. 

As he did so, a monster began creeping up on the two men. This resulted in both of them to quickly jump into the air and with the both of their swords to take it down immediately. To give recognition for jumping into action at the perfect timing, they both gave each other a fist bump before returning to battle.

What Alfred wasn’t expecting though was as he was in the middle of taking down a monster, the sounds of bullets filled the air. He resulted in ducking down so he wouldn’t be hit. Great, did these monsters invest in weapons or something now?

Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the case.

All he had to do was take one glance up to see the source of the bullets… And it had been a ship. A ship with soldiers that he was familiar with and a woman in her fairy form, throwing a rope down below him.

“Prince Alfred!” The woman had called out to him, “We’ve come to take you out of this world! Climb on!”

What was _she_ doing there? 

The last thing he wanted to see was that beast of a woman; especially since she almost killed Natalya during the exhibition a few days ago. Now she was there to rescue him? 

He had heard that Alice managed to recover her powers after having to see a guardian fairy to reverse Natalya’s spell. But the fact of the matter was that he believed she deserved to have been spelled. She began a mess that he didn’t know how to recover from, especially at the fact that he couldn’t get in contact with Natalya at all.

“No!” Alfred had begun and looked at the rope with anger filled in his eyes. Followed by saying this, he swung his sword and took out another monster, “I’m here to defend my school and the magical dimension! Go back to Eraqion and stay there!” 

“But your father requested that you come home immediately!” Alice had persisted while her expression slowly became annoyed, “Leave these peasants to fight. You’re the future King of Eraqion, we cannot have you be harmed!” 

Good, that’s how Alfred wanted it. He cared for his parents, yes, but he was speaking as a student of UHB. 

Not a Prince.

“I’d rather fight like a true King than sit back!” He was not going to leave that easily. It was then that he looked at the rope that was thrown down to him. Thus, resulting in him to swing his sword and cut it to indicate that he was not climbing up, “You can send my apologies to my father, but also tell him that I’m fighting like a king, not a weak prince!” 

Alice’s expression was full of disgust. The soldiers on the ship however couldn’t help but be amazed at what their Prince was saying. A future King would indeed fight to protect his people, and Alfred surely was proving himself as a good successor of the throne.

There were no words exchanged after that. All Alice had done was turn her head away while the doors of the ship were closed before they soon flew away. Alfred was glad that they didn’t put up a fight, especially with someone like Alice. If she tried doing anything, it would be very hard for him to not punch her since he was still very angry at her for what she did to Natalya. 

Despite being in an angered state, it didn’t neglect his anger that he had towards the witches.

Everyone in the dimension had been angered at the witches. Since news had broken out that the Lost Princess had been found, in addition to her being ambushed and having her powers stripped by her, the planets were in a position of chaos. Monsters were rising in different parts, attacking civilians or those who opposed the darkness of the witches.

It was the beginning of a building stage for the witches’ new empire.

The battles, however, were being handled well by both UHB and Lenfia. 

The battles at the schools lasted for about an hour or so. When all was getting to a position where students began to think all was lost, all of a sudden, the creatures ended up retreating after a while. 

Were the witches giving them a break? 

No one knew. No one knew if this was a break, or this was part of a bigger plan that the witches had for all magical beings.

Due to the destruction from the first round of the battles, UHB was in no good physical shape for the men to remain there. Men were injured, exhausted, and some of them had to be officially out of the battle due to extreme injuries. 

Being given the status update of the position of UHB wasn’t good in Radella’s eyes. Seeing that the planet was in a state of emergency, she had extended an invitation to the heroes to join the fairies on Lenfia’s campus. At least this way, not only would they be able to treat one another with medical care, but the fairies and heroes would be able to team up for a possible battle in the near future. 

It was a dangerous battle that was up ahead. So dangerous, that everyone was very lucky that no one was killed. 

Everyone was exhausted from the battle. Even when students from UHB began transferring themselves to Lenfia’s campus, the exhaustion was clearly present on a majority of the heroes' faces. 

Radella had stood in her office in silence upon seeing the scenes taking place towards Lenfia’s main campus grounds. Fairies aiding one another by healing and using potions, as well as supporting one another during this time of crisis. She was heartbroken to know that these witches would steal such power from an innocent fairy in order to bring this much destruction.

It was exactly what the ancestral witches had planned years ago. Though this time, these witches were determined to turn the magical dimension into a world of darkness and destruction.

Behind her, the orb that rested on her desk began to glow. This caught the older woman off guard as she was thinking to herself on how to approach the situation down at the campus before she turned her head to the direction of it. The orb glowed powerful magic, which she knew was a way that someone had been attempting to get in contact with her or send her a message. Usually, she used this orb in case she had to get in contact with UHB or the Tower of the Dead… 

…Headmaster Elijah was on her campus with his men. Did this mean Headmistress Evanora was finally returning her messages?

She turned herself away from her window and sat down in her chair. Just as she had been about to answer the message, she heard a knock at her door. She glanced up, only to be greeted to the sight of indeed Elijah walking in and making his presence, which she welcomed him by motioning to a chair in front of her before taking the call.

Unfortunately, the two leaders of the school had been greeted to not a good familiar face at all.

_“…Well well well, the Headmistress of Lenfia finally answers our calls!”_

_“How’s the godmother of the Princess doing? I hope she’s been very well.”_

“You witches…” Radella had spat in disgust as her eyes narrowed in anger. It wasn’t Evanora at all, but much worse. She could only find herself become worried in the thought of what was going on at the Tower of the Dead. The witches were there - that’s the only way they could be getting in contact with her. There was no other way, it made sense, “What do you want?” 

The reason why the children of these schools were injured was because of them. The destruction at UHB was all their fault. She knew these witches were young, but never in her life as a fairy did she have such great hatred to witches as she did now.

“We’ve decided to be good witches and give you your options,” Aviana had been the first one to speak from the device while twirling her dark hair. 

“In 12 hours we’ll be sending over our next attack,” Gelinda began as she crossed her arms; a devilish grin beginning to form along her lips. Oh, she was excited to see what they would say, “During that time, we’d like for you to make a decision. Your schools will seize to exist. We will become the new rulers of the magical dimension and make sure that princess Natasha is dead after these battles.”

“You cannot defeat us,” Nebula followed-up the statement with a hint of laughter.

“You must decide whether to surrender the Princess.” Gelinda finished off the statement. The entire time the two leaders of the schools had been listening, they maintained their calm exterior while on the inside they were honestly full of panic, “If not, we will take her from you. Princess Natasha was doomed to die by the hands of our ancestors. Now that we have her power, we’ll be finishing the task appropriately.”

There was a moment of silence after this statement was said. Within seconds, another flash of magic filled the orb as the last message that came was Aviana shouting from the other end, “ _Think about it!_ ” 

The message was cut off and only darkness came from the device. Radella had reached over now and placed a hand on the orb with horror brought to her expression.

What kind of decision was that? Surrender Natalya to them?

“They’re insane,” She spoke after a moment and glanced over at Elijah, whose expression hadn’t changed at all since the call, “They’re just like the ancestral witches. The ancestral witches did everything they could to get Alyona… Now, their descendants will do everything in their power to have Natasha… And I can’t allow that to happen.”

“I agree with you, Radella,” Elijah had responded with a nod before standing up from his seat. Followed by this, he proceeded to walk towards the window of the office. Outside it had been dark; lightning covering the sky and dark clouds surrounded the entire environment, “I’ll have my men prepared for battle. The Princess can not be harmed at any costs.”

Twelve hours… It wasn’t enough time for them to prepare for battle. Let alone, it wasn’t enough time for Natalya to recover from being attacked on Earth. Any fairy that was stripped of her power would need weeks to recover, which is why she didn’t understand how she was already up on her feet and moving.

Natalya must’ve been in so much pain.

Despite this pain, she knew the girl was a fighter. A strong fighter that didn’t have to rely on magic until months ago, which was why she was confident with an idea she had thought of in the midst of battle taking place on Lenfia’s campus. It was a risky, dangerous one…

…But it was one that must be done in order to save the dimension.

The older woman reached over for a phone that was on the desk. With pressing a few buttons, she brought the microphone up to her ear and took in a deep breath. It was time. There could be no more time wasted. 

“Glynda, it’s me.” She began while Elijah had been staring at her with a concerned expression, “Go get Natalya and bring her in… Bring Florentyna, Mei, Monika, and Tatyana as well. This mission can’t be done by herself.” 

With the click of her phone, now all she had to do was wait.

It took about ten minutes or so until all of the girls had entered her office. Natalya mainly had been standing there as if she had no injury from participating in the battle. The other girls were exhausted, and while Natalya was exhausted, her pain didn’t even match the anger she had for the witches at that very moment. 

Radella sat in her seat while examining all of the girls. It blew her away how strong-spirited they were after all that’s happened so far. It was almost the end of the school year too. They’ve all grown so much as fairies; even Natalya. 

She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of if Viktor and Alyona were there, how proud they would be of their youngest child.

“Thank you for coming in on such short notice,” Radella spoke out to start off their conversation.

“Actually, we’re glad you did headmistress,” Monika had spoken on behalf of the group. This caught the woman’s interest a bit, “Because we’d like to understand what’s going on too and help as much as we can.” 

They were so strong. It made Radella felt honored that she was their mentor during their journey to becoming full-fledged fairies. Now wasn’t the time to tell them how proud she was, though.

“These witches are trying to continue the fight that their ancestors had started years ago. In this case, they’ve succeeded in doing what the original ancestral witches failed on doing…” As she said this, she had pointed to Natalya who was startled by the sudden action, “Which was obtaining your power. The power of the dragon flame and heart of ice that her mother decided Natalya would have to protect. And because they have it, that makes them utterly invincible.”

It was crazy to Natalya that she was still learning about this now. All this time, she, the most powerful fairy of that universe, had been living on earth without even knowing about her tragic backstory.

Now, her backstory was beginning to turn things for the worse since she had easily allowed the witches to take her power. The dragon flame and heart of ice was the most powerful magic in the entire magical dimension. She tried to fight and protect the power as much as she could, but with also being only human… 

…Everyone had their limits. 

“Which is why…” Radella gave a serious glare at the girl, “I have a proposal. Please, listen closely.” 

All of the girls in the room had taken a step closer to the Headmistress to indicate that they were paying attention. Even Natalya had taken a step forward due to the fact that this may be the key to stopping the witches. Radella knew more than she did - more than what any fairy would know.

Even ones that the authorities of Magix and the magical dimension’s council had no awareness. 

“At this point with how the circumstances are,” Radella began, “You need to go back to your home planet. Sparx.” 

Confused expressions had all formed on the girls’ faces. The one who was most confused was Natalya herself. She didn’t even know that this planet had existed in the first place until just a few days ago. Now that she had to go there - how could she if it didn’t exist? 

Radella had held her hands out now to the girls. Soon, an orb appeared from the ground to reveal the said planet of Sparx. It had to have been bigger than any other planet in the magical dimension. To the girls, this made sense, seeing that it was once the capital of the entire dimension.

“I’m thinking… That somewhere in the depths of the palace, you may be able to find an answer,” The headmistress wasn’t planning on telling Natalya fully about her mother possibly being there. She herself had no idea where the former queen was trapped in her curse, but she knew that she was very well alive somewhere, “A clue… Something to help you figure out the key to getting your powers back. The dragon flame and heart of ice belongs to you only Natalya, so you need to get them back.” She approached Natalya now and placed a hand on her shoulder, followed by a smile, “Take it as advice from your godmother. You are our only chance of saving the magical dimension.” 

This was… So much for her to take in. Natalya didn’t know how to respond, especially since she never imagined being told such a thing. Save an entire dimension? It was a lot of pressure. From just seeing the orb of what was once Sparx, everything was covered in snow. There was no life on the planet at all. How would they be able to locate the palace that easily? The palace that she was born in…

…Maybe she could recognize it, but she doubt it.

“If that’s the case,” Mei spoke up after a moment and wrapped her arm around Natalya. With a smile, she gave a thumbs up to the Headmistress, “We’ll go with Nat.”

“Absolutely!” Tatyana grasped onto Natalya’s hands and held onto them with a smile on her face, “We know that you’re the princess of the magical dimension, but you’re also our best friend. We’ll always be there to help you and we will make sure you get your powers back.”

“As if you’d think, we’d like, let you go by yourself,” Florentyna had tossed her hair behind her and approached Natalya with a grin, “Sorry babe, but the second you became our best friend, that means you’re trapped with us forever,” 

Why were they helping her?… Yes, Natalya understood that they were doing it to help fight for the magical dimension and that they cared for her, but didn’t they understand they could get killed? This made Natalya’s face redden in frustration. 

On Earth, she never had friends that cared about her so much like this. Whenever she was sick, hurt, she was always by herself. Her family was there for her, but it was a different feeling compared to a friend's love. So all she could do at that moment was rubbing her eyes.

She hated crying. She hated crying so much because she always believed that it signified that she was weak. But after hearing her friends' reassuring words of comfort and wanting to help her, she was blown away by these new emotions. She managed to hold back her tears this time but instead responded to the message by looking up to her friends with a determined expression on her face.

“…thank you.” Natalya had taken in a deep breath now before glancing over at Radella. The entire time she was still smiling at her, which showed that the Headmistress even if she was an administrator of the school… She was family, “I’ll do it.” 

The second it was agreed and decided to go to Sparx, this resulted in all of them to leave the office and transition over to magical reality chamber.

The last time the girls had been in the chamber had been when they all had been taking their final exam. While it was a simulator, it would be able to transport them to Sparx without ease. It managed to do so for Natalya when she was sent there unexpectedly for her exam.

Radella, with the assistance of Professor Polonium, had been standing in front of the controls of the chamber while the five girls were inside. The Professor had been typing away at the monitor; keeping his eyes out on the girls while keeping the Headmistress informed on what he was doing. 

He would be the one to make sure that Natalya and her friends successfully made it to Sparx without any harm. 

For the first time, Natalya would be able to go back to her world since the attack that took place years ago. And it wasn’t in the form of an exam.

“Alright ladies,” The Professor had spoken into a microphone while Radella had been standing behind him. With the snap of his fingers, orbs had flown in the direction of the girls and floated on top of them. It was there that their entire appearance began to drastically change with their normal attire transforming into more… Wintery style clothing? 

One by one, their outfits had gone from more Spring attire to ones of jackets, gloves, boots, hats, and goggles to keep their faces and bodies protected.

This was when Natalya remembered. When she did her exam, the planet was absolutely freezing cold. The only thing she had to keep her warm during that exam was the clothing on her body and her own powers keeping her warm. If there was one thing that Natalya couldn’t stand, it was indeed snow. She grew up with it due to Russia being known for snow, but it was still a frustrating thought that she’d have to see it on her home planet. 

“I want to remind you that this isn’t a simulation. This is completely real,” The Professor continued while pressing a few buttons into the simulator so the destination was set, “I won’t be there with you like in classes. No chaperones at all. You’ll be all by yourself.” That was when one of the buttons in front of him began to glow. Once he pressed it, that would send the girls away, “Remember to stay focused, calm, and relaxed. You all have permission to use your powers freely. Just be careful.” 

With that said press of the button, a bright glow began to surround the girls. The last thing that could be heard before they were transported to the said new world had been;

_“I wish you the best of luck.”_

Hearing that reminder was definitely needed. All of them were about to step into a world for the first time in years since the destruction.

All it took was a few seconds. A few seconds for the air in the room to go from completely warm, to extremely cold. Natalya blinked a few times when they arrived and opened her eyes to seeing snow… Everywhere. 

The wind was harsh. The girls were even giving confused expressions upon seeing the new environment they were in. Yes, they were in worse environments during training courses for their classes, but Sparx… 

…It was cold and lifeless. 

“Holy shit.” Florentyna had gasped as she looked around; wrapping her arms around herself out of shock, “It’s cold as balls here!”

“Makes sense to hear that from the Princess of the hottest planet on this dimension,” Mei couldn’t help but to chuckle to herself, resulting in a hint of laughter to come from Tatyana hearing the comeback.

Alas, Monika didn’t seem phased at all by the cold. Instead, she had motioned the group to follow her, “Come on,” There was no time to waste at this point, “Let’s get going and find this palace.” 

One by one, the group stuck by one another while walking through the harsh snow. The wind blew against them, where there were points that they stumbled back. But the reality was that it was a sad sight to see of what had happened to such a beautiful planet.

This planet was once so full of life. Natalya swore she could feel and just imagine how things were back then. The entire magical dimension loved the world of Sparx so much that when the attacks had happened years ago with the ancestral witches, everyone was heartbroken. It made sense back on Magix with how happy they were on the news to hear that she was alive.

The last heir to the throne of Sparx fully alive and well. Not dead like the rumors have said. 

Once in a while, the girls did have to take a rest break with just how bad the wind was. Natalya had thought of proposing the suggestion of using a spell that would put them all in an orb to keep them warm… However, she didn’t want to wear her friends out.

“I can hear mother nature screaming her head off…” Tatyana couldn’t help but comment as the girls had begun to slow down their pace in walking. She did make sense seeing how the wind had been so harsh against them, “It’s almost as if she’s angry.” 

Nature was something to be protected and treasured. The matter of mother nature being in vain from the planet’s lifeless state was not surprising at all to the group. Everyone was angry from the position of what was once a beautiful planet being destroyed due to witches.

What the worst part about traveling on foot was the fact that they couldn’t see anything. Professor Polonium had provided them goggles to protect their eyes, but it still wasn’t enough for them due to all the wind. 

Then there was Florentyna with her motivational comments about how they could do it and to look at the brighter side. All of the girls were silent when Florentyna went on with her speech about how they needed to stay positive. She was the only fairy that could control heat aside from Natalya, so naturally, they weren’t going to talk back because once they found the palace, she’d be needed. 

They walked for what felt like hours when it reality it was only about an hour or so. What the girls had no idea about though was while they were on Sparx, chaos had ensued once again on Magix.

The Tower of the Dead was absolutely silent. With student witches and Headmistress Evanora being imprisoned in the school’s basement, it allowed for the witches to freely conduct their spells and magic in order to proceed with building their army. While they had been taking a pause on launching their attacks, what they hadn’t been expecting was to get a message from Evanora’s orb.

A message of very valuable information. 

Gelinda had approached the orb and held a hand over it seeing it glowing. Within seconds of her hand making contact with it, a message had filled her mind. It had been a message directly from her powers picking up a life source directly on Sparx, which resulted in confusion to form onto her expression, “What?…” She muttered before directing her attention to the orb, “Show me Sparx. Now.”

Why would there be any life sources on the planet? It was more dead than any other being. Any magical being who decided to enter the planet was asking to be killed due to its horrible conditions. All Gelinda needed though was to make that simple request before greeted the surprise seeing that there was not only one life source present - but there was five.

One by one, she could make out the faces of who had been walking on the planet. Florentyna, Tatyana, Monika, Mei… 

…And Natalya herself.

Anger built upon her face. How - when were those pixies sent to Sparx?! Under the conditions that the magical dimension was thanks to her and her sisters, they were sent to Sparx for what reason? 

Gelinda slammed her fist against the flat surface of Headmistress Evanora’s desk, which startled the other two witches, “That sly little bitch sent her and her pixie friends to Sparx!?”

“…Uhm,” Nebula interrupted and looked up at the other, “Who?”

“That Headmistress!” Gelinda could feel herself grinding down on her teeth in anger, “Headmistress Radella! We gave the damn woman twelve hours to cough up the Princess, but instead, she sends her directly to Sparx? Does she think she’s that sly? We have the dragon flame and heart of ice - it’ll tell us where the fuck its guardian is until it's reunited with her.”

Aviana had approached the other witch to glance down at the orb. Indeed, she could see that Gelinda was correct. The fairies had seemed to begun running now through the snow of Sparx, thus resulting in unamusement to form on her expression, “Alright… So what do we do?”

“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” Gelinda held her hands over the orb; the image of the fairies immediately disappearing before she had stepped down from her place to approach the book of dark magic they had used originally to summon the army, “Radella broke the proposal, so we’re initiating phase 2 of the plan right now to show we know what’s going on.”

Gelinda was truly serious when saying this. That within seconds of deciding to initiate the second part of obtaining the Princess, the witches had formed themselves in a circle and conducted the enchantment to raise the army of decay once more. 

It was only an hour since the fairies had left. What was once just a raining day in Magix had again turned into terrible conditions once again. The army slowly began to rise from the ground in addition to the rain picking up. Fairies and heroes who were under Lenfia’s barrier were soon greeted again to these creatures, which for the administrators who thought they had time before the second wave of attacks, were greeted to a harsh reality. 

The witches were angry.

* * *

The group of fairies only goal at that moment was to find that palace as quickly as they could. Not only would it be warmer inside it, but they could hurry with the mission and get back to Magix, since they all didn’t have a good feeling ever since they left. 

The more they walked, the more exhausted they felt themselves become. The harshness from the cold weather didn’t help, so when they began slowing down, this was a sign that they needed to hurry.

The one who seemed the most frustrated had been Florentyna. She wasn’t the kind of individual to be in the cold for long, seeing that she was the fairy of the sun.

It was ridiculous. 

The cold was picking at her face, her nose, and even her feet were beginning to hurt. This was no condition for her to be in, especially for being a Princess herself! Thus, when it had reached the official more than an hour mark of them walking, she began to crack.

“That’s it, we can’t keep walking like this!” She had practically screeched out loud which caught the entire group’s attention. 

This weather wasn’t good for all of them, yet there they were still walking somehow. What no one was expecting though was for Florentyna to hold her hands up into the air, resulting in magic beginning to glow. 

“Florentyna, I don’t think that’s a good idea-“ Monika had begun and held out a hand to the girl who was beginning to crack, “Are you planning to transform?-“

“Don’t do it!” Tatyana agreed with the other’s statement, “In your fairy form, you can freeze!”

“Not if I use the power of the sun!” Florentyna began before holding her hands out. From there, a bright light came from her, and within seconds, the snow that they were trucking through melted away immediately. So, she wasn’t planning to transform? “If I can at least clear a path for us, this can go by more quickly and smoothly.”

That was a true point. The girls looked at each other to see if this would be a good idea. To Natalya, she thought it was because if Florentyna was willing to clear a path for all of them, then they should be able to reach the palace more further.

“If you think it’s the right action, then do it,” Natalya had given her approval to the fairy while still walking forward. There still was no time to waste.

Unfortunately for her though, she hadn’t really been paying attention where she was walking. The ground had been completely covered by snow as the continued walking. By the time Florentyna’s spell had worked to melt the snow, this was already seconds after they began walking through it. 

With no proper visibility to the ground and Natalya being the one to lead, for what happened wasn’t surprising at all. 

All it took the girl was one step forward for her to discover that there was a hole underground. By the time Florentyna’s spell had caught up, she had been exposed to a large hole on the ground that had seemed to be caused by a crack. Her eyes widened and she quickly attempted to take a step back, but it was too late.

A loud scream then ensued when the girl had fallen through the crack. This resulted in not only the group of fairies to also scream in horror when seeing Natalya suddenly fall through the ground but for Florentyna’s anxiety to reach its peak.

“That’s it!” The fairy had held her hands out once again and a burst of magic was followed. There was no more of avoiding using her powers now, “ _Charmix!_ ”

During the transformation sequence that took place with only Florentyna, Natalya had continued falling through the said hole. By that point, she presumed that at least she would have hit the ground and faced death…

…But, she didn’t.

The fall had suddenly transitioned into her sliding on her bottom. It was almost as if she was sliding to the ground? She knew if she was falling, she would feel gravity pulling against her.

That didn’t prevent her from screaming, seeing that it was extremely dark.

When she reached the end of the odd slide, her instincts had warned her about the landing and thus, she did a forward flip and landed on her feet with her arms out. If there was one thing she was thankful for, it was that her figure skating skills had prepared her for landing unexpected falls.

“How the hell am I still alive?” She couldn’t help but murmur to herself while dusting off the dirt that had been on her clothing. All she did was look up to be greeted to the sight of what looked like a large cliff. It was a good fall, but it was more of her sliding down some sort of slope, “Looks like at least 300 feet…”

She was a bit shaken up due to the sudden fall. She didn’t know how the girls were all the way above her… They must’ve been freaking out. Hopefully, they would figure out a way to come down there to see that she was okay. It was a moment like this that she wished she also had magic to send the message that she was alright. 

And indeed, Natalya was right about her friends being worried when she had fallen unexpectedly. 

Florentyna had been at the edge of the said crack that she had fallen in; holding out her hands and seeing if she could at least produce a bit of light. 

Meanwhile, Mei and Tatyana had been continuing to look around to see if parts of a castle could be located, and Monika had been trying to see if she could still detect a heartbeat from Natalya below where she fell. In her hand, she held onto a device that would detect nearby life sources. She could see all of her friends' life sources, but she waited to see if Natalya's source was present…

Which all it took was for a few seconds to see a blinking light underneath them.

A loud sigh of relief was given by the fairy of technology when hearing the sounds of a heartbeat still be made underneath them. That meant that she was okay and managed to stick her landing, “Natalya’s alright,” Monika began and closed the device before looking over at the rest of the girls, whose expressions were calm, “She’s underneath us. Which means that what we’re standing on… Could be the palace.”

“No way!” Mei couldn’t help but gasp, “How is that possible?”

“It seems that when Florentyna used that spell to melt away the snow,” Monika stood up, glancing down at the hole before looking up, “A gateway to the place opened up… Which means those large cliffs of snow… Could be the palace,” 

When she had said this, Monika pointed forward to the sight of pillars being coated by snow. In front of them, it looked like a giant mountain with multiple layering. The thing was that there had been shaped out to the palace, which indeed led to the group making a discovery. 

Tatyana had gasped and looked up, “Look! Those look like parts to a palace.” 

The said parts that looked like pieces to the palace had been completely covered by snow and ice. By its shape, it looked similar to the one that Radella had shown the girls earlier in her office. 

“Well, this sounds like a job for me,” Florentyna had flown over while still in her fairy form. The rest of the girls decided not to transform due to the harshness of the cold, so with Florentyna having the heat of the sun to keep her warm, they knew that she was an exception. 

Florentyna had reached onto her hand where a ring had been on her ring finger. From there, she had taken it off and threw it into the air before it had transformed into a long scepter with the shape of the sun on the top of it. The top of it began to glow while Florentyna focused her power into it so she could send it over in the direction of what may be the palace to melt it.

When she believed she had enough power, she made her way over to the direction of the palace that was covered in ice and swung the glowing light’s power in its direction. It only took a few seconds or so before it began to completely melt. The girls watched their friend do this before being exposed to the beautiful sight of what once was a palace. 

The palace had been grand. It had been in shades of multiple purples, but also vines had been decorated along with it as well. It had consisted of multiple balconies and even had an outside garden as well. The gates were made out of gold, there had been a fountain that seemed to be of the former King and Queen dancing. 

The trees though were absolutely dead. There was no sign of life in the palace, which was indeed horrific. No life form seemed to exist in the palace, which meant that the palace’s current state is in the same one since the battle that took place years ago. 

Florentyna wasn’t done though. With seeing just how large the palace was, there had to be more. She spun her scepter and pointed it in the direction of the ground, “If Natalya fell through, there means there’s an underground part of it too,” 

The snow and ice around the girls began to meet. Just as Florentyna had suspected, there was indeed more to it. What they had been standing on, in particular, had been what once seemed to be a river that surrounded the palace. There had been stairs beside the palace as it continued to melt, revealing a secret passageway to the underground portion of it. 

“Ladies…” Florentyna began, “I think we just found the lost Royal palace of Sparx.” 

Meanwhile, the girls had been melting the remains of the palace, that didn’t stop Natalya below them from traveling through the underground portion of the palace. She hadn’t even realized she was inside the palace due to how beat up it was. 

It had been dark, but not as freezing as it was above. Fortunately, there were some openings above her that produced a bit of light, so she was able to see where she was going. 

“I hope there’s some sort of passage to get out of here…” Natalya couldn’t help but murmur while walking through the said passage. 

It felt like a very long passage. But, it was very well structured she had to admit. Maybe this was part of the palace? She’s heard that some palaces have an underground route for wars and such, so maybe what she had fallen through was a hole that led to the underground portion of the palace? 

Either way, it was definitely a weird experience. If this was truly her family’s palace, it was just a foreign concept to her that she was technically born there. 

What managed to catch her attention after walking for a while was the sight of a door. She paused for a moment upon seeing it. Why was there a door underground? It was better than where she was now, so may as well continue to explore.

She lifted up her foot and with a strong kick, she knocked the door down in place. That was much easier than she thought, seeing that the place had been so beaten down. Though what she was exposed to when seeing what was inside the door… 

…She was blown away.

This wasn’t just any other underground passage… It was the corridors of the palace! This was where servants and other members of the palace would be working!

The more and more she walked, she more she had been exposed to what the palace offered. It was almost as if she were in an underground house. She had stumbled upon not only tables and decorations that had been in the corridors, but chairs, shelves, and even images of symbols that must’ve been part of the royal family at the time. 

It was hard to tell exactly through what each item was due to the ice covering it up. Despite her being able to make out its shape of what items she was looking at, she was still completely unsure. 

What was frustrating her the most though was the one room she had walked in upon exploring the corridor for a while. When she had reached the end of it, she had found a staircase that led her to a grand dining room. 

Entering the dining room was an even weirder experience than she ever thought. What she was expecting to see was just a simple table with chairs and such, but looking around it brought an uneasy feeling to her chest. Then, it clicked.

“I’ve been here before…” Were the only words that managed to come out of the girl’s mouth. With a gloved hand, she began touching the said table and large chairs. 

What managed to capture her attention the most though was the sight of how many chairs there were. There had been two large chairs, which must’ve been for the King and Queen. Across from each side, there had been two smaller chairs which had to be for the children.

But in between the larger chairs for the heads of the royal family had been a cradle meant for a baby. 

“ _Holy fucking shit…”_ Natalya couldn’t help but speak in her mother tongue of Russian to express the shock that she was experiencing. 

If she was understanding the situation that was presented to her, the family was just about to have supper before the events of the raid occurred. There were plates, glasses, and even food that had decayed over the last seventeen years. 

Her feet though had been making her way over to the cradle that was in between the two chairs. Was she expecting to find something in it? No, but she did either way. 

Inside it, she had found a simple blanket and pillow. Nothing too fancy of course, but what managed to catch her attention was the name that had been sewn onto the pillow.

_Natasha Braginskaya._

Natalya brought both of her hands up to her head and began looking around frantically. So, if this really was the royal palace…

…This _was_ her home. This was the place she was born and expected to be raised in. 

She stumbled away from the cradle, almost too horrified to look at it as she looked around for an exit. There was much more that she wanted and needed to see to satisfy her frustration. The more she looked at these things, the more she believed that she may be able to find more answers. 

Finding the exit was easy, which had been a long hallway connected to the dining room. Thus, resulting in her to run down it as quickly as she could. 

As she ran, this gave her the opportunity to be exposed to the designs that covered the walls. It blew her away with the fact that she was once in these halls many years ago. She didn’t have memories of it since she was only a baby at the time, but something about the environment felt familiar to her. 

What got her to pause her running though was when she had ended up in what looked like to be a courtyard. From what she examined, there seemed to be many entrances of the courtyard and she had just come from one of them. On the right, there had been a large staircase. This must have lead to inside the actual palace with all the rooms.

The palace had been three stories tall. The very bottom had a courtyard, the second story had other rooms such as most likely studies or the throne room, while the third story had been all of the bedrooms. That would make sense seeing all of the balconies that had been on the top. Her family must’ve really enjoyed the outdoors. 

The sounds of loud rumbling met her ears when she had sat still. What was going on? Was there an earthquake? 

She had to get herself quickly to safety. 

Natalya had run toward one of the entrances of the palace and stayed in a corner so she could get a view of what was going on in the courtyard. Upon further inspection, she noticed that above her there had been a sheet of thick ice beginning to crack. When it did, large pieces of it hit the ground and shattered that she couldn’t help but cover her face so it didn’t hit her.

What managed to catch her attention though was the feeling of warm light. She slowly opened her eyes to see a few familiar faces trying to travel down before relief formed all around her expression.

“This is so beautiful!” Florentyna couldn’t help but gasp as she lowered her scepter that was glowing still. As the girls traveled down to the courtyard, this gave Natalya the chance to come out and reveal herself.

“Natalya!” Monika had been the first to notice the girl before immediately sprinting towards her. It was less than two seconds later that she had pulled the girl into a tight hug because if there was anyone more worried about her, it was Monika.

The rest of the group had relieved expressions on their face as well upon seeing that Natalya was okay after her sudden fall. So when they all came to give her a hug, she couldn’t help but let out a nervous chuckle and feel a bit glad to see her friends again.

“I’m glad to see that you all are okay,” Natalya began when they pulled away from each other. Though when she did this, she motioned over to the entrances of the courtyard, “I need to show you all something. It’s ridiculous in here.”

“A good kind of ridiculous,” Tatanya began, “Or bad kind?”

“… _Amazing_ kind,” Natalya answered briefly; her eyes still focused on the top of where the other fairies had come out from. 

“We can see that,” Mei couldn’t help but to follow-up while glancing around the courtyard. By just Florentyna managing to melt all of the ice and snow that surrounded the palace, they were all exposed to the damage that the witches had done years ago, “The damage is absolutely insane… And it’s crazy how this world used to be the capital of the magical dimension.”

It was indeed crazy. Natalya still wasn’t over the chills that she had by just walking through the palace itself. Though when hearing Mei’s statement about the damage, her eyes widened in realization.

The entire palace wasn’t entirely destroyed. There was another part to it that they weren’t seeing, which resulted in Natalya to take a step back away from the group and walk towards another direction. This definitely caught the group’s attention because it wasn’t like Natalya to walk away like that all of a sudden.

'No,” She began and approached a particular entrance. It was almost as if her instincts were telling her that there was a place where no damage was taken. With her hand, she turned the knob slowly, “The underground portion of the palace… The witches didn’t know it existed. It’s completely intact,” 

She pushed the door open to reveal a hallway that was indeed still put together. Yes, there had been a good amount of dust covering the area and spiderwebs seeing that there hadn’t been anyone there in more than a decade.

But there were no cracks nor damage at all.

“Oh wow…” Tatyana gasped in amazement as she approached her friend, “How did you know that?” 

That was a good question. How did she know that… Natalya didn’t know. It was almost as if someone had been telling her to go through that direction. It was probably the only part of the palace where no damage was taken by the ancestral witches, “Something was telling me that not every part of the palace was destroyed.”

“We should go inside then,” Monika took a step forward and peeked her head into the hallway that Natalya had exposed to them. With her hands, a flashlight was formed so they should be able to see through it, “It’s safer than the other parts of the palace. Plus if Natalya’s instincts are telling her to, we better listen to it.” 

That statement had been met on agreeable terms. One by one, they all took a step inside the door that Natalya had opened. This gave the girls the opportunity to be exposed by the part of the palace that hadn’t been destroyed at all. 

The walls had been decorated with designs and images of the royal family. Along with this, there had been furniture still set out as decoration. The rugs were dusty and dirty while spiderwebs were formed on the ceilings, which was natural seeing that the place had been abandoned for so long.

Once they were all inside, they began to venture through the hallways. Monika had been leading the way since she had managed to put together a rough map of the palace based on the environment. Where they had been walking was a hallway that should lead them to the throne room if she was correct. 

“No footsteps at all detected within the last seventeen years,” Monika couldn’t help but comment while analyzing the data as they walked, “Just a ton of spiders and dead bugs.” 

Bugs didn’t seem to bother the girls at all, except for Florentyna, of course. In response to hearing that statement, she stood behind Monika and held her scepter in the air so there could be more light. That way if there were bugs, she could avoid them immediately.

The hallway had been very long which made sense seeing that it was a large palace. It was interesting seeing the interior of such a large palace. Most palaces had a ton of stories, but this one only had three. But in each story, there had been a lot of rooms and space for the royal family to be in. 

What Natalya had been more drawn to had been the images on the wall that they had passed. Most of them from what she saw had been of generations of royal families who had ruled the kingdom. Her great-great-grandparents to probably her current family had been on those walls. 

But she had no idea if it was since she didn’t even know what her family looked like. 

Thoughts began to fill her mind as she thought to herself. It was all so sad to her. All her life, she had grown up knowing only her family on Earth… Yet, there were generations beyond generations of her family in that palace. Simply through portraits, it felt as though that she had been being told of the stories of these families ruling such a beautiful dimension.

It was so sad that forces of darkness wanted to destroy it all.

_"Where the north wind meets the sea... There's a river full of memory…"_

“…Natalya?” Florentyna had called out, noticing her friend’s distracted state and wanting to see if she was okay. 

Natalya had frozen on the spot when she had heard the voice. Her hands were immediately brought to her head in response. “Did you guys hear that?”

Confused expressions formed on all of the girls’ faces. Hear what? Tatyana had noticed Natalya’s change in behavior, thus resulting in her to approach the other and place a hand on her shoulder.

“Hear what, Natalya?” She had asked in her gentle tone of voice, “Did you hear something?”

“Yes!” Her eyes were full of panic. It was almost as if she were hearing someone sing out to her? In her dreams, she would always hear this song… It sounded so familiar, but for Natalya, she couldn’t narrow it down from where it was from.

“I don’t pick up any other life forms,” Monika had begun as she held her hands out to reveal the map that she was once looking at. Her device should’ve detected noises in the palace, so what was it that Natalya was hearing? 

_“Sleep, my darling, safe, and sound... For in this river, all is found.”_

If she didn’t find the source, she swore she would go a bit crazy. Natalya shot a look at the group who had immediately became concerned by the other’s chance of behavior. 

Less than two seconds after hearing it again, she had sprinted off. This was no warning for the girls behind her, so when Natalya had begun running in the direction of where the voice was coming from, they all had followed her.

“Hey—“ Mei had panted while sprinting after the other, “Natalya, wait!”

“Give us at least a warning if you’re going to do that!” Florentyna had followed-up that comment before a glare was given by Monika. She was using her wings, so she couldn’t be complaining, “Don’t look at me like that! It gets tiring when flying too!”

Natalya knew her friends would be just fine. The more and more she ran towards to the direction of the throne room, she was able to hear the voice more. The voice had gotten so loud enough that even the girls behind her now could hear it.

There was someone else in the palace. Not a life form, but someone that existed and still remained in the lost palace. 

_"In her waters deep and true... Lie the answers and a path for you. Dive down deep into her sound...”_

With all the running, Natalya had made it to the end of the hallway where a pair of large doors had been shut. Thus, resulting in her to lift a leg up into the air and slam it against the said doors just as she did in the dining room. The room she had been exposed to had been a throne room.

The girl took a few steps inside the room and looked around. The voice… It sounded so familiar. Where has she heard it? It wasn’t in her dreams, no, it couldn’t be. She’s heard it in person, but by who?

_“…But not too far, or you'll be drowned.”_

“Natalyaaaaa!” Florentyna called out loudly when the team of girls had made it to the room that their friend had burst in. By this point, they all could hear the voice that Natalya was talking about, so they knew that she wasn’t crazy, “We hear the voice too!” 

Hearing her friends' voice though completely unphased Natalya. What she had been more focused though had been the seats that belonged to the King and Queen of Sparx. In between, it had been a cradle there along with two other chairs beside it. 

That’s when she recognized not only the room they were in but the song that they were listening as well.

_“Yes, she will sing to those who hear. And in her song, all magic flows... But can you brave what you most fear?”_

A burst of magic unexpectedly filled the room. Loud screams were heard by the group of fairies that were startled by it, resulting in dust to fly everywhere. For Natalya, she was completely unphased. 

“It’s a ghost!” Florentyna had shrieked, practically clinging onto Tatyana, “We’re all gonna die!”

“Will you shut up?” Natalya shot a glare at the other and held her hand out, almost as if she had been trying to protect her friends from going in further, “Just listen.” 

That was when it had happened. Within seconds of her speaking, she looked around and watched as the energy of the magic began to make silhouettes of individuals… Sitting in a bed. 

It was a normal-sized bed. One that was fit to suit one person, but it seemed that two younger individuals had been laying in the bed while another individual was sitting at the edge of it. The smallest of the two figures seemed to have been fast asleep, while the silhouette of a little girl was picked up and held as an older woman had picked her up and cradled her in her arms. 

_“Can you face what the river knows?”_

Natalya’s eyes had been widened as she looked around trying to figure out the source of the said energy. While this happened, Monika had been trying to scan the area to see what was causing this, Mei and Tatyana had been holding onto each other in fear, while Florentyna had ignored the arm and flown in front of Natalya to make sure whatever it was wouldn’t harm her. 

Watching the scene, it looked like a mother putting her children to bed? All of this confused the girls as they stood there and kept their distance away from the scene that was taking place. It was all completely normal. 

A normal routine for any mother and children.

The two children seemed so happy. The youngest one was fast asleep with a smile on its face, while the older one was being cradled and rocked by the silhouette of the woman as she was the one who was singing. 

But then, it all vanished.

Another burst of magic had filled the room. This time, the next scene taking place of what seemed to be of the throne room, where silhouettes of different people were all celebrating some sort of grand ball. Hundreds beyond hundreds of guests wearing beautiful attire… Though what mainly caught Natalya off guard was the sight of the empty chairs in that throne room now being filled.

A man who had dark hair, piercing violet eyes, and a beard while he wore a suit sat in the King’s throne while a woman with beautiful, long blonde hair, a soft expression on her face with blue eyes had been staring right at Natalya. 

In the smaller chairs had been a younger girl and boy standing around a cradle that had the sounds of an infant cooing and giggling. It looked like what they were doing was making funny faces to the infant that was inside it, because the baby sounds were all she could hear.

That’s when it all hit her. 

It was when the kingdom was having a grand ball… The day the destruction began.

The ancestral witches decided to attack the royal family on a day where all the citizens of Sparx would be gathered at the palace. That way, they could attack everyone at once, attempt to capture the guardian fairy, and steal the power that they believe belonged to them. 

Natalya’s jaw slowly began to drop in realization. What she had been more horrified about was the fact that the woman who had been sitting in the Queen’s throne had still been staring _right_ at her. The King had approached the cradle at this point with the two children and had been joining along with the funny faces as well. But the queen, her eyes were widened and full of horror. 

_“Where the north wind meets the sea…There's a mother… Full of memory…”_

What had horrified her the most was when the Queen slowly stood up from her throne… And thus, the horror of the scene began. 

The group of girls watched as everyone who had been once dancing had been running and screaming for their lives. Behind the Queen, the King had reached out for a sword while the daughter and son had been picking up a loud, crying infant. He had placed a kiss on each child’s head, even the infant’s as well, before yelling at them to run away. 

The woman took a step to the side to let Natalya be exposed to what was next. Now with the three children had been the same woman, sprinting and running as fast as they all could. When they were at a corner, the queen had knelt down and had kissed each child’s forehead before explaining something to them.

It looked that the oldest child wasn’t happy at all. Especially upon being the one to take the crying infant into her arms, followed by a bright glow coming from the three where the woman had yelled at the children to run; leaving only a locket and blanket with the infant. 

At that point, Natalya had brought her hands to her face in absolute shock. She didn’t know how to handle what she was witnessing at that moment. Even her friends had been horrified to the point where Tatyana had been covering her eyes in fear, Monika’s jaw had dropped, and Mei had run over to Florentyna’s eyes because if she had been exposed to the horror she’d probably faint. 

The children of the royal family had been running for their lives at that point. Who seemed to be the oldest child had been not only carrying the crying infant but the little boy as well who had been screaming and crying about wanting to see his mother. 

What had gotten Natalya almost weak at the knees was when the older child had stopped running and held her hands out to open up a portal. It was there that she had placed a kiss on the infant’s head, let the younger boy to the same before sending the infant off into it. It was there that she had picked up the younger boy now and began running as fast as she could from the scene. 

It went completely pitch black at the scene. The only individual who had been standing there and glowing had been the woman who had appeared in Natalya’s dreams. And when she did approach, Natalya didn’t move at all.

The figure reached out and touched Natalya’s cheek now. On her expression, all she could see were tears welling up in the woman’s eyes before she reached over with another hand to cup Natalya’s other cheek. If she was in the right state of mind, she’d probably run… But her instincts were telling her otherwise. 

Silence. There were no more singing nor music box sounds that filled the throne room. But that didn’t stop Natalya from…

“ _Come, my darling homeward bound..._ ” She had whispered out in a choking voice; her face reddened now when she realized who exactly had been speaking out to her. The woman’s expression soon softened upon noticing that the girl was finally beginning to realize who exactly she was, “ _…When all is lost, then all is found._ ”

Natalya had brought her hands up to her mouth when continuing to stare at the figure whose expression was full of relief. This spirit - it wasn’t just any spirit. 

That was her mother. 

The one who had been cursed by the ancestral witches. What she had just done was to expose her youngest daughter to the horrors of what happened before the battle against the ancestral witches had taken place. She was absolutely speechless. Queen Alyona… The Queen of the Magical Dimension…

…the original keeper of the dragon flame and heart of ice.

The woman though could tell that the child was shocked out of her mind. So instead of doing anything else, all she had done was reach down to take the girl’s hands with a smile and spoke in a soft, gentle tone, “ _Welcome home._ ” 

How was she supposed to respond to that? The horror she had just witnessed. It was almost rewatching a film of everything that had happened years ago. Maybe her mother had a reason as to why she wanted her to see it. She had to have a reason, because if she didn’t, then she wouldn’t show it to her, 

_“I’ve missed you so much, you have no idea…”_ The woman continued and couldn’t help but to rub her eyes now. Then again, this was the natural response of a mother who hasn’t seen a child since she was a baby, “ _You’re so big now too… Not baby Natasha anymore.”_

“That song…” Natalya’s expression began to soften. This woman would come to speak to her in dreams. Whenever she had a nightmare, Alyona would always sing it to her in order to help her calm down, and it always worked. Since she was born, she would sing the lullaby. The only reason she had sung it now was so she could get Natalya to come to the throne room, “You used to sing it to me, didn’t you?” 

A smile was drawn to the mother’s face. Her daughter recognized it. It was the lullaby she sang to her three children all the time. But for Natasha, it always managed to get her to calm down within seconds if she was sad. 

She could tell that the child had many questions about what she had witnessed. For now though, as much as she’d like to answer them, she knew the reason why her daughter was there was for something else. 

“ _What you are looking for is not here in this palace, my darling,”_ Alyona had begun before moving over to the thrones. It was there that she motioned for her child to take a step forward. Even the fairies behind her that she knew were her daughter’s friends, she wanted for them to see too, “ _But I can help you.”_

When being motioned over, Natalya took a few steps forward to the said thrones. It was there that she had been exposed to the sight of crowns and tiaras lined-up. At the very end, there had been a silver one with diamonds decorated along with them. The queen had picked it up gently with her hands and reached over for her daughter’s hands before placing it into them.

“ _The crown of the dragon flame and heart of ice,_ ” Alyona explained to her child before picking it up once again and placing it on top of her daughter’s head. It was there that the tiara vanished, indicating that it was reunited with its owner after many kong years, “ _This crown signifies not only you being the Princess of Sparx, but the true guardian and Princess of the dragon flame and heart of ice. Even if you believe that your power was taken, you are the sole owner and no one can ever take it from you, Natasha.”_

Queen Alyona had been the former possessor of the dragon flame and heart of ice. When Natasha had been born, the Queen had decided she would be the one to protect it for the future generations to come.

Thus with that crown, Natalya knew and realized that her power couldn’t be stripped away from her completely. This had been where she slowly began to sink to her knees. She was emotionally drained at that point. Not only did she witness the horror of what happened years ago, but she now was able to see her mother in such a cursed state, she had no idea where her siblings were and she was left with a clue on how to obtain her power back.

A hand was placed onto her shoulder. She looked up now to see the concerned expression on her mother’s face. The woman already knew how much her daughter was stressed, which was why she knelt down and whispered to her, “ _Don’t worry about me, Natasha. You now know the truth. First, do your duty. My advice for you is to remember that what was once lost, **will** be found._”

There was no doubt that she ever allow for the descendants of the ancestral witches to win and take over the magical dimension. A nod was given by her when hearing her mother’s reassuring tone, but Natalya wasn’t satisfied just yet.

With her hands in fists, she stood up slowly and looked at the figure, “I swear that once this battle is over… The second I’ve defeated the descendants of the ancestral witches..” She began and reached over to take her mother’s hands, “I will fight with my life to rescue you and my siblings. I will make sure that Sparx is a kingdom once again and we can all return to our normal lives.” 

A large smile grew on the woman’s face. Seeing her daughter like this reminded herself of when she was younger. She then reached over to cup her daughter’s cheek before placing a kiss on the top of her forehead, “ _That’s my Natasha…”_ She pulled back now, “ _The words of a true fairy. One more thing before I go, though…”_

Natalya’s eyes widened. Wait, where exactly was she going? She wasn’t going to disappear, was she? 

“ _If you ever need me, I’ll always be here in Sparx.”_ Alyona explained to her child before wrapping her arms around the girl. Even though she couldn’t physically feel her daughter, she was happy enough to at least have some sort of contact with her, “ _Just call for me in battle, and I will help you. I love you so much, Natasha… You have no idea how much and how proud I am of you._ ” 

A bright glow was then followed. Natalya stood there in place as she watched the woman who was once there vanish with the bright glow. That’s right, she remembered… Her mother was cursed due to the ancestral witches. She must’ve not had a lot of power due to the fact that the battle had done so much to her. 

When Natalya told her that she’d rescue her and her siblings, she swore it. The second the battle was over, her next task was to figure out where her siblings were, rescue them, and then together they would be able to save their mother from exile. 

There had been silence in the throne room when Alyona had disappeared. When she did, the group of fairies immediately approached Natalya to see if she was okay. But just as shocked as they were, she was silent as well. 

It was there that she formed her hands into fists and had a serious expression on her face. 

She was angry.

Angered at the fact that she _could_ have had her life be normal in the palace. She could have grown up knowing her parents and siblings - the ones who loved her very much. She loved her adoptive family so much on earth as well, so while she was glad that fate chose her life, she was also angry that her family had to suffer while she had a normal life. 

“I’m going to destroy the witches,” Were the words that Natalya had said out loud to break the ice, “And I will get back the dragon flame and heart of ice. Mark my words, I’ll make sure that happens.”

One by one, smiles grew on each of the girls’ faces. Not because of what Natalya’s said though, but because she didn’t seem as sad as she was before. The Natalya they were witnessing was so weakened and depressed about losing her powers, but now, she was motivated.

“That’s the Natalya that I want to see,” Florentyna immediately pulled her friend into a tight hug; excitement formed all over her expression because it felt like a long time since she’s seen Natalya this happy.

“I was wondering what happened to the old Natalya,” Mei couldn’t help but comment while playing a hand on her friend’s shoulder. The entire time, she had been smiling since she was so glad that her close friend was able to meet her mother after so long. 

A nod was given by Natalya. She was happy that her friends were relieved and better about the situation at hand. She understood it all better, which led to her motivation to fight and succeed, “Now that I know everything about my past, I got to meet my mother after so long… I feel stronger. Much stronger.” 

In conclusion for the entire trip, she didn’t really get that much information on how to successfully obtain the dragon flame and heart of ice back. She was given the opportunity to learn more about her past and who exactly she was. It was a heart-wrenching experience being exposed to everything all of the sudden, but at least she was able to know everything now.

The girls had decided that it would be best to go back to Magix. Not teleport inside the palace, since the palace didn’t look stable at all despite its good condition. The weather seemed to have calmed down as well, so this was their opportunity to go back quickly.

The group had walked up the stairs of the balcony that led to the grand entrance of the palace. The walkway had been able to lead them to the golden gates of the palace. Once they had opened the gates, they proceeded onwards down the said passage. 

What the girls weren’t expecting though was to hear the sounds of… Not necessarily the wind, but the sound of something… Purring? 

“Am I going crazy?” Mei couldn’t help but ask while keeping her eyes out ahead, “But… Does it sound like there’s a cat here?” 

“Everything’s all dead you know,” Monika reminded the other before snapping her fingers, thus resulting in her to summon her device yet again to track if there were any life forms, “I doubt there’s any creatures…” Her tone of voice began to slow down the second she noticed something blinking on her device, “…Here…”

The two girls had spoken too soon. With being ahead of the group, what they weren’t expecting was to see a large creature standing at the top of a nearby mountain releasing a loud roar. This resulted in them to panic and turn their heads over to the three girls that were still catching up because even though there was a passageway, there was snow to get through. 

It only took a few seconds for the three girls, Natalya, Florentyna, and Tatyana, to notice the others’ eyes that were full of horror. They were silent when they approached the two of them that were frozen, but upon hearing the sounds of roars and running in their direction… 

…That’s when they knew. 

“Is that…?” Tatyana couldn’t help but choke out in a nervous tone.

“A monster?” Florentyna followed-up with the statement in a horrified, confused tone, “But it’s all dead here!”

“Either way,” Natalya looked over at the group. It saddened her that she couldn’t participate properly in a battle, but what she had done was quickly pick up an icicle that was sharp enough at its end so in case she had to fight, she would, “You all have to transform. Don’t worry about me, I’ll defend myself.”

The group all gave the princess a nod of agreement. They just couldn’t run from this situation, which was why when Natalya had given them the green light to transform, Monika, Mei and Tatyana immediately jumped into the air where bright light began to form around their bodies.

As the transformation sequences took place, Natalya had been holding onto the said icicle she had picked up while Florentyna who already had been in her fairy form began attacking the creature that was running at their direction. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem happy at all that they were there. 

What took things into a turn was when the monster had stopped running when seeing the group of fairies and a normal girl on the ground. Was it going to attack? The hits that Florentyna had sent over didn’t seem to work, which was why they were all confused about why it wasn’t responding.

The monster stood there on all of its fours and did one simple action that brought alertness to all of the girls. With a paw in the air, it had slammed it down into the snow and within seconds, creatures began crawling out from it. Not just any kind of creatures, but creatures that resembled the ones that had been crawling through the schools of Magix.

Was it summoning the army of darkness here on Sparx, when they were all by themselves? 

“They’re everywhere!” Florentyna couldn’t help but shriek in horror while holding her scepter into the air. A bright light grew at the top of it before she had swung it in the direction of the said creatures; thus wiping out a few of them. “Does that mean the witches know we’re here!?”

“No idea!” Monika responded; still, midair, as she glanced down at the monster, “Either way, that creature, looks like it’s not going down anytime soon!”

Even if the small army was growing, the girls proceeded to fight.

Mei flew up high into the air before holding her hands out. It only took a few seconds for a flute to unexpectedly form in her hands and soon she began playing it. What the group had been expecting was for her to be using a spell to make the creatures explode… However, this time it was different.

All of the creatures slowly turn to her attention; hypnotized by the sound of the beautiful music.

This was only so she could distract and the rest of the girls could attack, which they all managed to get the message of. Tatyana was first before she flew over the creatures; bringing her hands to her lips before blowing and soon large vines began to grow from the ground. It was almost as if she were planting her seed into the ground to make them grow, “ _Flowers of the wind_!”

The creatures that were distracted by Mei’s music had been all wrapped up and trapped in what Tatyana had formed. All it took the fairy was the snap of her fingers for the vines to crush the creatures of the dark one by one. 

That didn’t mean they were all gone. 

Florentyna had flown high up into the air and spun the scepter she had in hand. Followed by this, she had flown immediately down and slammed the end of it into the ground. This resulted in a large orb in the shape of the sun to form a bright light and grow large. When a creature had been inside the orb, it immediately vanished due to the heat of it being exactly similar to the sun.

“They just keep coming!” Monika couldn’t help but to begin with a slightly annoyed tone before closing her device and flying into the air, “I’ll try to clear out the area. Meet me inside the palace corridors - I’ll be there in a second.” 

All of the fairies nodded to that statement. While they all ran towards the corridors, this gave Natalya the chance to realize that she was practically defenseless. Even if she said she could defend herself, a large sharp icicle wouldn’t be good enough to fight whatever those monsters were. 

Upon arriving at the corridors, the group had begun to barricade the door with some old wooden pieces that had fallen to the ground. That way, monsters wouldn’t be able to get inside and possibly cause more damage to the already beaten up palace. 

Monika had held her hands up now and soon what looked like computer chips formed in her hands. What she had been holding were chips that were bombs that she created. So as quickly as she could, she flew through the crowd of monsters and stuck one onto each monster as best she could. With the press of a button, it was almost as if all of the creatures were gone in the area…

…But more were still coming. 

This was the cue where Monika had flown immediately towards the castle and held her hands out. There, another device that she had created formed in her hands as she stuck it against the palace walls. This was a shield that she formed in Professor Polonium’s class. It would provide protection to a large building or anything of the sort for a certain amount of time.

When it was activated, a large green orb surrounded the palace. She had ignored the monsters that were trying to climb through it, but the second they touched the wall they were immediately electrocuted. 

At least it showed that her little device worked. 

Inside the courtyard of the palace, the fairies had been trying to figure out a way on how they would escape. If the monsters were surrounding the area, it would be too dangerous. Maybe there they would have to try and form a portal to get back to Magix. That was only if Monika brought them bad news about the monsters.

The fairy of technology made her way inside the palace through one of the windows. There, she met up with the group of fairies and lowered herself as they all stared her; waiting for information on what was going on outside, “Good news,” She began, “I managed to destroy the first round of them. The bad news is that they keep coming.” 

So it was never-ending. 

How were they going to escape if there were monsters surrounding the area? All of the entrances of the palace were blocked or surrounded by the creatures…

That’s when an idea came to Natalya’s head. 

“We can escape underground,” Natalya began and motioned to the door she had come out of earlier when she had found the group. By the time she had said this, loud banging could be heard from outside. That must’ve been not just the creatures, but the large monster that had summoned them in the first place, “If we can get underground, we can fly through the crack in the ground and escape.” 

“Then what are we waiting for?” Florentyna had nodded in agreement with Natalya’s statement. What else were they going to do? Stand there and wait for the monsters to disappear? That didn’t seem like it was going to happen. 

Since Natalya knew where the entrance of the underground portion of the palace was, she motioned for the group of fairies to follow her. She ran in the direction that she once came from and pulled the door open. The group had been exposed to a staircase that Natalya began sprinting down while the rest of the girls flew down.

It had been dark when they made it underground. With Florentyna’s magic, they were able to produce a bit of light so they could see at least where they were going with finding the entrance that Natalya had fallen through.

After a while of running, there could be loud roars and screams coming from behind them. The monsters managed to break through the barricade they had set at the entrance of the palace. Which now at that point, they knew that they needed to begin running instead of flying. 

Natalya, Mei, and Monika had been fine with sprinting as fast as they could, except for the girls who weren’t so much runners, Tatyana and Florentyna had slowed down a bit with their wings so the others could catch up. 

However, just slowing down was enough for the creatures to begin creeping their way down the entrance of the underground hallways. 

“Shit!” Mei had gasped upon hearing the sounds of the creatures begin to screech at them. If they got too close, it would be impossible to escape. She held her hands out and formed a barrier around the girls so in case they managed to catch up and try to pounce on the group, it would send them flying off.

The group eventually had reached the opening in the sky of where Natalya had first fallen through. This was where the girls had stopped running, which gave the opportunity for the monsters to fully catch up to them. As they all stood there inside the orb that Mei had formed, the creatures had begun to climb over them despite being bounced away. 

The sight of it was so horrifying that even Florentyna, the one who had power and magic in the first place, began hiding behind Tatyana in fear again.

“What are we going to do…?!” She released a loud shriek of panic when hearing the creatures screeching and claw at the orb they were protected in.

What were they going to do?… That was a very good question that even Natalya didn’t know how to answer.

It was there that she could feel her chest begin to pull at her strings. She couldn’t help but feel bad for dragging her friends that she cared for so much into her shitty situation. 

They were the ones who insisted and volunteered to go with her. She could have gone by herself, but they refused and came anyway to be with her. If she were by herself she’d probably be killed, so maybe there was more to why they all agreed to go. Either way, she was grateful and would soon return the favor once she had her powers back. 

“We can try a convergence spell,” Monika began and looked at the other panicked fairies. A convergence spell could work as a temporary solution, which meant that more creatures could come back after a while, “That way, we can give us some time to—“

She had been cut off by the sound of an explosion. The explosion had been so loud that the girls in the orb couldn’t help but to fall to the ground from the impact. Whatever the explosion was though, by the time they had gotten up all of the creatures had been gone. 

It was there that they were exposed to possibly who were their saviors at that moment. 

Even Natalya herself could feel her jaw drop upon seeing the ones who had caused the explosion.

_“S’up babe,”_ The individual spoke to the girl with a grin on his face. In his hand, he had been holding bombs in between his fingers, had been wearing battle armor while other men had been behind him fighting off the said creatures with their own weapons, “ _We got this._ ” 

No.

The heroes!? How did they manage to get to Sparx? Questions and confusion filled all of the girls’ expressions upon recognizing the familiar faces. 

As much as they wanted answers to their questions, especially for Natalya, she instead turned her head away and faced her friends, “Go and fight. I’ll be okay,” She stated, “Do the convergence spell as well and try to hit the monster. I’ll defend myself if I have to,” 

When she had said this, Natalya had jumped out of the orb and approached the man who had been holding the bombs in his hand. Though instead of saying anything to him, she had reached to his side quickly and snatched the sword that had been on his belt. She had pressed a button just like he had shown her how to during one of their many dates, before holding it in front of her and smirking at him, “Sorry, this is mine now, _Alfred_.” 

The man though didn’t seem phased at all when seeing this. The same old Natalya, still trying to show off her fighting skills when it came to a sword. She was a natural at it, and if she was truly the princess of Sparx like he had watched on television, then it would make sense. 

What she didn’t do though was unlike the fairies and the rest of the specialists who were battling the creatures, she had stayed put. If a creature tried to approach her, she would use the sword as self-defense.

The group of fairies had been preparing the said convergence spell. If they wanted the raid of monsters to stop, that meant that they had to take out its source - this being the large monster that had raided them earlier.

They all flew in a circle with their hands intertwined with one another. As they did so, a glow began to form in the middle of the said circle. Seconds passed and it grew brighter and brighter before they had locked their exact target, which had been the monster who had been roaring loudly each time a round of creatures had been eliminated. 

“ _Convergence!”_

All of the girls had shouted out loudly before the glowing orb of magic had gone flying in the direction of the monster. It took the power of that one hit to not necessarily eliminate the monster, but enough to knock it out from summoning more creatures.

One by one, the creatures that the heroes had been once attacking were beginning to vanish. Natalya’s idea had worked and was successful. The monster wasn’t dead, but it was enough to knock it out to an unconscious state so it wouldn’t summon anymore creatures of the dark. 

“Natalya’s idea worked!” Florentyna couldn’t help but to shriek in excitement, but also relief before flying down and landing on her bottom since after using that much magic for so long, she was exhausted. Thus, resulting in her to snap her fingers and retransform back into the winter attire she once arrived in. 

Monika couldn’t help but to grin when hearing that statement and approach Natalya, giving her a pat on the back, “You know, I’ve gotta thank you for that idea. I wouldn’t have even thought of that.” 

“Now the big question is…” Mei began; her eyes narrowing at the four men that were present. Alfred, Gilbert, Mathias, and Antonio… All of them were there as if they were being their heroes.

The fairies that once had their wings fully began to detransform. Dark glares came from each of them, especially for Natalya who had been staring right at Alfred who seemed to be very nervous seeing her after the chaos that had ensued at UHB. 

Mainly at the fact that seeing the heroes on Sparx was the last thing they all ever expected.

Mei continued speaking, “How the hell did you guys get here? Or more of, how did you find out  we were here?” 

“UHB’s been destroyed,” Gilbert had been the first to talk. As he said this, he had pressed a button on his sword so it had gone back into its case and he could slip it onto his belt, “So all heroes are taking refuge at Lenfia.”

“Professor Polonium had mentioned that you ladies were on a mission on Sparx,” Mathias had continued off from where Gilbert had ended and crossed his arms, “So he opened up a portal for us, but it was a damn process to find you guys.” 

That made more sense to the group. It was a bit of a relief too if they were, to be honest since if the men didn’t show up, they all could’ve been in huge trouble or possibly have been killed. 

“And he asked us if you were finished with what you needed to do on Sparx,” Alfred had begun, “T-To uh, bring you guys back to Lenfia.”

The entire time though he could feel chills running up his spine since the girls were all still staring at him with dark glares. Natalya though had her arms crossed and brows raised, curious about what he had to say.

To back to Lenfia through the ship they had brought rather than opening a portal sounded much better. With a nod of agreement, the girls began making their way up the stairs of the underground hallways so they could begin making their way over to the ship.

“Oh goodie,” Florentyna couldn’t help but to touch her face as they were walking, “This cold is terrible for my skin, so I’m glad that we can get out of here.”

To walk to the ship didn’t take the group of girls and boys that long. What had been the painful part of the walking though, mainly for Alfred was the fact that all of the girls were still glaring daggers at him. Natalya was quiet most of the time, because what was there to say? The last time she had seen Alfred was back on UHB after the whole incident with Alice.

She was not only angry at him for lying to her, but the fact that his apparent crazy fiancée wanted her dead on the spot for having any sort of relations with him. 

Upon arriving at the ship, Mathias had been the one to sit in the pilot’s seat and start it up. The girls had taken their own individual seats, while Natalya had sat down in her own and kept her arms crossed. The message she was trying to send was that she was still angry at Alfred, but Alfred being Alfred of course… 

…Obviously didn’t get the message at all.

He believed that this was his opportunity to talk. Thus, he didn’t hesitate to sit down right beside her. 

“Natalya… I-“ He had begun while the other was still looking away from him. With a heavy sigh, he tried to put together the right words while Mathias had been in the process of getting them into the air so they could travel back to Lenfia, “…I can’t think with your friends staring at me like they’re gonna kick my ass.” 

This resulted in Natalya’s brow to raise and turn over to Alfred in slight interest because she honestly wouldn’t complain if they decided to beat him up. But for the sake that they were on a moving ship and she was not in the mood to argue, she slouched in her seat and let out a loud; “Guys, can you _stop_ it?” 

The girls who had been sitting behind Natalya had immediately frozen when hearing the sudden statement. Florentyna had been sitting with Monika discussing the different ways of hanging Alfred, while Tatyana had been panicking and whispering about how that wouldn’t be a good idea. Mei on the other hand? She didn’t want to be involved with boy drama, so she had been in a corner playing her flute to herself. 

The glares from the other fairies eventually stopped, which got Alfred to sigh a bit in relief because it was really putting his anxiety at a high level with the stares. What he didn’t realize though was afterward, Natalya once again went back to looking away from him. He had explaining to do, so he may as well just start.

“First of all, thanks,” Alfred sighed heavily and began rubbing his neck nervously. He couldn’t mess this up. If he said something wrong and got her angry, he was dead on the spot. Gilbert and Mathias already said that they weren’t going to get involved in his Prince drama, so he was on his own, “Second… I know I can’t just say sorry about the situation. If I could do more than say sorry to get your apology, I would.” 

‘ _Aw, how sweet’_ , Natalya couldn’t help but think. She still kept quiet though, seeing that she wanted to hear what he had to say. 

“I know you probably wanna kill me for lyin’ to you,” The man continued; biting down on his tongue since giving an apology was really hard to him. Especially since he knew he couldn’t mess up _this_ apology in particular, “And you have every right to. It was wrong for me to not tell you that I was a Prince. I want to tell you I actually have known Alice for years, yes, but I can’t stand her at all and never wanted to be engaged to her… So, I broke it off. I should’ve ignored my thoughts about you not looking at me the same way if I did tell you,” 

That was the issue. 

Natalya wasn’t angered about him lying. Partially, yes, but there was a bigger issue at hand. What she was angered about was him letting his emotions get to the best of him and blaming it on why he lied. This was where she had turned around and reached over slowly with her hand. 

What he had thought she was doing was to cup his cheek and pull him for a kiss….

…That gentle caress she gave him at first turned into a slap right across the face.

“Yikes…” Gilbert couldn’t help but snicker as he sat in the co-pilot chair; helping Mathias with directing the ship they were in, “That’s gotta hurt.”

An angered glare was on Natalya’s expression at this point. Alfred naturally slowly brought his hand up to his face, rubbing his cheek where the girl slapped. She sure did have a good hitting hand, “I guess I deserved that.”

“Oh, you deserve _much_ more,” Natalya spat in disgust before letting out a heavy sigh. May as well explain to him why she was angry in the first place, so he could have the context of why she wanted a proper apology, “First of all, don’t you _ever_ fucking say that you should ignore your emotions. If you may be listened to the smart side of your damn brain for once, telling me how you felt inside instead of coming up with lies and putting yourself in this situation, it would have made things much easier.” 

The way she said it; did that mean she was more worried about his emotions than the fact that he lied to her for so long? Despite the fact that she had just slapped him across the face earlier, he was genuinely a bit happy to hear that. 

“Second of all, I’m glad you’re admitting to your mistakes.” Natalya sighed and rolled her eyes at the thought of this, because this wasn’t the first time she’s been lied to, “Believe it or not, a lot of people on Earth lie a lot. I can’t stand liars. Hell, maybe the reason I hate it so much is because I was born in a palace where lying is strict with royals or some shit, I don’t know. Maybe it’s in my ‘royal blood’ or whatever the fuck.”

Even if she was this angry, gosh, Alfred had to admit that she was so cute. It was why he liked her a lot. She wasn’t the kind of innocent fairy that would keep quiet if something was wrong. No, she liked to speak her mind out and was very intelligent. It showed that she was strong-willed with a strong heart, which made him happy. It was there that she reached over and took his hand, holding onto it tightly. 

“Listen Alfred,” She was struggling to figure out the right words to say to him. There were three sides to Alfred’s brain, as she liked to call it. The very intelligent side because he was actually very smart from what people didn’t know, the stupid side because he said stupid things sometimes, and the horny side. The horny side was for another time though, “I love you, and if you want this relationship to work, you need to fucking talk to me. I tell you about my problems, and if you’re so afraid of telling me that, what, you’re a Prince? Then we need to sit and discuss it. I don’t want you doing shit like saying 'I’ll ignore my emotions’, just, _nyet_. That’s where issues will start and then me wanting to beat you up.” 

Jumping straight into the point as per usual. It was crazy to him too how mature she was with only being a first-year student fairy. Already, she knew so much about things that he was absolutely blown away. Even the group of fairies who had been accidentally eavesdropping on their conversation, they were just as shocked to hear how serious Natalya was being right now. 

“Alright,” This was when Alfred couldn’t help but to smile and lean forward, which immediately got the girl flustered in her seat. He loved doing that to her so much, “I can agree to that. Do you accept my apology, then?” 

A sigh was given by the girl in response before she nodded. The only reason she had been accepting his apology was due to the fact that he was admitting to his mistakes and willing to work them out for next time. If he had simply tried to apologize and justify his actions for lying, then she wouldn’t have. But at least he was willing to put the effort in to talk to her.

“…Yes,” It was there that she also couldn’t help but lean over herself. A grin was formed on her face, which caught the male’s attention. Thus, making him confused, “Only under one condition.” 

One condition? Whenever Natalya said under one condition, sometimes her conditions could be the craziest things. There had been one time when he was stressed ‘down there’ and she said that she’d only help him under one condition, and that was him allowing her to play with his video games! 

“When I have my powers back and everything goes back to normal, I get to meet your parents.” 

His face immediately went pale. Nope, he shouldn’t be surprised at all. That was the response he should’ve been expecting. Now that she knew that he was the Prince of Eraqion, obviously she wanted to meet the King and Queen to formally introduce herself. His parents - he didn’t know how they’d react.

But if they knew that she was the Princess of the magical dimension, they may not give him as much as a hard time

“Wha…” 

“ _And,_ ” Natalya sat up with the same grin on her lips. There was an and? How much did this girl want? “I get to have dinner with them too. You met my family on Earth over dinner, so now I get to meet your family and eat fancy royal food,” She shot a glare and held out her hand to him. What she was expecting for him was to shake it, but Alfred, he was speechless, “Deal?” 

Alfred’s eyes looked down at the hand that was held out to him. It wasn’t that bad of a condition.

She wanted to meet his parents and have dinner with them. When his family had first confronted him about having a relationship with a fairy from Earth, he had told the truth. That he was in love and she wasn’t anyone bad. His mother seemed to be more accepting of it, though his father on the other hand probably needed a bit more time to process it. Maybe if he got to meet Natalya, especially since it’s been discovered she was a Princess, then he wouldn’t be as angered.

“Deal,” With his own hand, he took the other’s and shook it in agreement. 

That’s what Natalya wanted to see. Of course, because he agreed, when he had pulled his hand back, she had leaned over to press a kiss against his cheek. 

This made Alfred’s eyes widen before smiling. He was glad that things were back to normal between them. No more of this awkwardness and they were able to talk about it in person. It kind of wasn’t fun having someone that he genuinely loved being so annoyed and angry at him.

Slowly with his arm, he had wrapped it around the girl and brought her close. Natalya didn’t push away. Technically she had just made him agree to a large condition, so he had the right to at least want to embrace her a bit after they had been separated for a while. There was also the fact too that so many events had happened just after the incident.

They may as well enjoy the sweet time while it lasted. Once they were back at Lenfia…

…The mission of retrieving her lost power would only be continuing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've made it to Chapter 11! So sorry for the delay in getting this up, but this was a very long chapter as you can see. But it was SO worth getting all that extra detail in there, since I just love the idea of a mother and daughter reuniting after long last. ;u;/ 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it! Things are definitely beginning to get interesting... Just wait until the next chapter. ;) 
> 
> Speaking of, please plan for a release of Chapter 12 on 7/10/2020.
> 
> Until then, see you soon! C: <3


	13. The Search for the Flame and Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly with his arm, he had wrapped it around the girl and brought her close. Natalya didn’t push away. Technically she had just made him agree to a large condition, so he had the right to at least want to embrace her a bit after they had been separated for a while. There was also the fact too that so many events had happened just after the incident.
> 
> They may as well enjoy the sweet time while it lasted. Once they were back at Lenfia…
> 
> …The mission of retrieving her lost power would only be continuing.

The trip back to Lenfia had been about an hour. Seeing that the group had been traveling from a faraway planet, it took time. The fortunate part of it had been that traffic was something that didn’t exist at all in the air. It was during this time that they all had the opportunity to relax after the chaos that ensued on Sparx. 

However, the journey wasn’t over yet for them.

The doors of the ship opened moments after they had landed in the middle of Lenfia’s campus. By just taking a glance out one of the ship's windows, everyone had been exposed to the sight of not only fairies flying around and putting together a barricade for the next attack the witches planned to send, but the heroes assisting with this as well.

“You weren’t kidding when you guys said that UHB was invaded, huh…” Mei couldn’t help but comment in a bit of surprise to her tone. The first reason being UHB seemed very tough structure wise - but she supposed that everything had its limits, “It’s good that you guys are here now though,”

“Yeah,” Gilbert had been twirling the keys of the ship in between his fingers while stepping off, “When this whole mess is over, I think the school year may just end and they’ll do renovations over the summer or something.”

Once everyone had been off the ship, Gilbert had pressed a button on his keys to the ship to have the doors close. What the group wasn’t expecting though was to be greeted by not only the headmistress of Lenfia who had been waiting outside in her own battle attire but the headmaster of UHB to be there too. 

They looked exhausted. It was as if no one had gotten rest since the group had left for Sparx. Even the heads of the schools seemed to have participated in the fights, wearing different battle attire compared to their usual uniforms.

“Welcome back,” Radella had spoken out to them with an expression of relief on her face. It was truly good to see that the group made it back to Lenfia without any difficulties. She had been worried over the fact mainly that they weren’t experienced at all in missions such as those, so she was glad to see that it was successful, “I’m so glad to see that you’re all okay.”

“Physically, yeah,” Florentyna couldn’t help but grin, “But mentally? Honestly, Headmistress, seeing Sparx was like a living nightmare.” 

A nod was given by the older woman in understanding. That wasn’t a surprising comment since she knew just how horrific Sparx was after the attack years ago.

“Indeed. But what I can confidently say though is that you ladies, for being in your first year of training, really handling such an intense mission well.” She stated, which had brought joy to each of the fairies’ eyes. It was a rare sight to be complemented by such a highly respected fairy, after all. She then turned her head over to Natalya, “How are you feeling, dear?”

“I’m...okay,” Natalya had admitted as she rubbed her neck. She didn’t know if now was the good time to say that she was able to talk to her mother, thus why she decided to hold back from saying anything else, “But I was able to figure out some clues to obtaining my powers again. Even if it wasn’t getting my powers back, I know where to go now.”

“Good,” Radella nodded and crossed her arms as a serious expression soon began to form along her face, “Some events have happened since you were gone.”

Events? What sort of events happened? Did the witches find out that they went to Sparx? A bit of nervousness began to build up in Natalya’s chest, but of course, she ignored these thoughts and instead listened to the heads of the schools.

“Which is why we’d like to ask if you could join us in a brief meeting,” The Headmaster of UHB had spoken out to her, “You, Alfred, Florentyna, and Gilbert. The rest of you all deserve your rest after everything that’s happened, and we’d like for you to be here for the next battle the witches send in our direction.”

A meeting with just the four of them? The group of fairies and specialists indeed were a bit confused, but alas, they wouldn’t argue with what the experienced users of magic had to say. If anything too, Natalya could just catch them up on what was discussed. 

The rest of the group members were dismissed as the leaders of the school said. Except for Natalya, Alfred, Florentyna, and Gilbert, who were all expected to follow Radella and Elijah up to the main office to discuss. 

What Natalya had been interpreting had been that they wanted to discuss the clues she found.

Or, perhaps talk about the events that had taken place since they had left. Either way, it seemed that their priority was to make sure that she got her powers back. Once she did, she would be the one to defeat the witches once and for all. 

Just walking through Lenfia, the group of four had been exposed to what had been going on. Students were working together to try and place temporary walls or barricades on areas that had received a good amount of damages from the attacks. The attacks from the battles seemed to take most hits on the bottom floors of the school. The top portion, where the offices were, seemed to be intact.

Elijah had been the one to open the door for Radella and the students before they all settled down in individual seats in front of her desk. It was there that Radella had snapped her fingers and soon a cup of tea had flown towards each student’s direction. They all needed it to regain a bit of energy since rest was something that wouldn’t be happening for a while with them. 

“You know, I was thinking a lot about what you said during our previous meetings, Natalya,” Radella began as she slowly paced in front of her desk. To any student, that was horrifying because when an administrator was doing that, they were thinking of a punishment for delinquent behavior. But in this case, they were all being serious students, “And I think now is the time that I’ll agree to this, for the only time, about letting you go to the Tower of the Dead.”

Silence. 

There had been complete silence while a nervous expression formed on the girl’s face. Natalya had mentioned to Radella for only a brief moment about maybe going to the school for witches to get her power back. 

What she didn’t mention though was that she _had_ the conversation in the first place to _anyone_.

It was a conversation discussed before the first attack. It was brief, but it was one that didn’t get into any detail because Natalya didn’t think that Radella would be so willing to agree to such a proposal. But it seemed to be opposite of what she thought, seeing that the woman had to mention it in front of everyone…

...When she hadn’t even told anyone about it.

“ _WHAT!?_ ” 

“Headmistress, pardon my behavior, but are you crazy!?” Florentyna had shot up from her seat and immediately pulled Natalya closely, as if she would never allow such a thing, “You can’t just send her there!” 

“Headmistress, if I may,” Alfred had continued off from where Florentyna had begun speaking, “The witches are way too powerful. We can’t just allow Natalya to go in there—-“

“—-Which is why,” Elijah had interrupted his student before taking a step forward, “We asked for you _three_ to come here and join her on the quest to the school.”

The three of them looked over at Natalya who was still silent. They probably were annoyed that she didn’t say anything, yes, but it was only due to the fact that she had genuinely forgotten about the brief proposal in the first place. They soon turned back to the heads of the schools, waiting for more information.

“Natalya knows how the dragon flame and heart of ice works,” Radella explained to them and walked over to the window of her office. Whenever she was thinking, she always enjoyed looking outside to see her students having fun… Though in this case, this time, her students were working to protect the school, “Now with her clues, she may have a chance to take it back from the witches. And possibly find Headmistress Evanora because we haven’t gotten in any contact with her at all. Which is why Headmaster Elijah and I believe that she’s ready.” 

“You men are going to accompany both fairies to the university,” Elijah continued onwards and then motioned to Florentyna, who was still blown away over the fact that Natalya even thought of an idea, “The Princess of Solaria will also accompany as well because we also believe that she’s advanced enough to fight against the creatures of the dark. Consider this a real mission you’ve been training for throughout your last few months of training.”

To Florentyna, all she didn’t care about was the fact that she had to accompany Natalya on the trip. What she was more focused on was the fact that the heads of the schools thought that she was strong enough and advanced to fight.

Earlier in the year, she thought she wasn’t a good fairy at all with fighting wise, so she must’ve advanced a lot throughout the year.

While she was in her own world thinking; her expression lightened up at the thought of being considered good - that didn’t stop the men from talking.

“Only a lunatic would decide to get close to the Tower of the Dead,” Alfred had tried explaining to his headmaster before motioning to Natalya. “You want us to protect her, aka the _Princess_ of the magical dimension. Therefore, we shouldn’t go there,” 

“…No, Alfred,” Natalya interrupted the other who had turned over with a brow raised in confusion. It was there that she approached him and patted the side of his head, before bluntly saying, “The stupid side of your head is showing again,” 

When she said this, Gilbert couldn’t help but snort, which resulted in Alfred giving the other a glare before turning back to Natalya to hear what she had been saying,

“ _Only a lunatic would decide to get close to the Tower of the Dead,_ ” Natalya had repeated the other’s words, “ _That’s_ why we have to go. The witches know that none of us would even think of coming close or attempting to raid them.”

This resulted in Radella giving a grin to the girl being smart. She knew that Natalya was very intelligent, seeing her grades and all being very well throughout the past school year. A comment such as that resulted in the group to silence before the young woman continued.

“Which is why I _need_ to get to the Tower of the Dead,” Natalya finished off her statement and looked over at Radella who had a smile on her face. She supposed that was the correct thing to say since no one had been talking back or trying to disagree with her, “The dragon flame and heart of ice is a piece of me that I need to retrieve myself. Already I’ve been suffering enough without it, so we need to do this, even if you don’t like it.” 

A sigh was given by Alfred before crossing his arms. Sometimes he forgot just how intelligent Natalya was, so instead of trying to continue pushing the fact of her safety, he figured he may as well be the good guy and listen to what she was saying, “So how are we going to sneak in, then?”

“Easy peasy!” Florentyna grinned and brushed her hair to the side, which everyone couldn’t help but look at her in confusion. However, she explained anyway, “Natty, remember that traveling spell that I couldn’t memorize but I finally got to memorize after you yelled at me every five minutes?”

This resulted in Gilbert to burst out laughing while Alfred covered his mouth and looked at Natalya with an expression that almost said the message of, ‘You did what?’. 

Natalya being herself of course, she wanted her friend to pass this year with classes. Florentyna was technically supposed to be a second-year but failed all of her classes the year before, thus why she had been at a first-year level again. Everyone knew this, and the fact that the girl beat herself up over it frustrated her. 

If she had to yell to get Florentyna to study, she did it. And it paid off.

So while technically she was a year older than Natalya, Florentyna always had asked her if she could help out with her studying since she seemed to do very well with it. 

“Yes, I do,” Natalya nodded and looked over at the other with a small eye roll, It was almost as if she had a bit of hope at the thought of Florentyna learning, “Why, do you _finally_ remember it?”

“Nope.” A smile was given by the fairy before a loud slap could be heard in the room. In this case, it had been Natalya facepalming herself due to the fact that the other had gotten her hopes up. Florentyna noticed this though and approached her friend, “But, you know it! So all you have to do is tell me what to say and I’ll do the spell.” 

The entire time the other spoke to her, Natalya’s face had an angered look. Not only due to the fact that she fell for Florentyna actually getting her organization together but the fact that she wasted her time screaming her head off at the other to start studying. 

Alfred was the first to notice Natalya’s change in behavior. So before the girl had the chance to go and pounce on Florentyna, started screaming her head off at the other for not listening, he had approached her and held his girlfriend’s hands back and covered her mouth to prevent her from saying anything.

“Okay, we’ll do that then,” Alfred looked at the other he had restrained quickly, which he had only been met with a dirty glare by Natalya, “Right, Nat? You’ll help Florentyna with the spell?”

As much as she didn’t want to help Florentyna with the spell and would much rather slap her for forgetting after they had worked so hard, Natalya let out a loud sigh of annoyance and gave in. Right now wasn’t the time to be angry, especially in front of their heads of the school who seemed to be smirking at the sight of the students having a disagreement.

Not a good way to present themselves to high figures at all. But at least it was something to laugh at during this time of chaos and destruction outside.

“…Whatever,” Natalya moved her mouth away from Alfred’s hands and pulled herself back, before sighing once again and crossing her arms. She supposed they figured out their next course of action, “We’ll leave after I convince the rest of the group to stay here.” 

How she was going to convince the rest of the group, she was unsure of that bit. She could tell that since it was discovered that she was the lost princess, all of her friends were very wary. On more high alert especially seeing that she was the prime target the witches had wanted once they finished their take-over.

She had decided to confront them after the meeting with the heads. They were scheduled to leave immediately despite being exhausted from Sparx. There was no more time that could be wasted because once the witches achieved their goal of destroying Lenfia, who knows what could happen.

Before they had left though, Elijah had offered Natalya battle armor of her own. It wasn’t much, but it was something that would keep her protected. It also consisted of the tools the specialists used, which meant she had the opportunity to fight with her own weapons.

Alfred and Gilbert though we're a bit shocked to hear that their Headmaster was allowing her, of all people, to be using their weapons without the proper training. His reasoning was that he trusted that she could fight - and she needed all the protection she could get.

When she had walked outside in her new battle attire, Mei, Monika, and Tatyana had already been in their fairy forms. The sounds of creatures of the dark had been filling the air, which meant that the witches' next attack would probably be soon. Though when they saw Natalya in a completely different outfit, almost similar to the armor that the men were wearing, they were confused.

“You’re not going to like what I’m about to say,” Were the first words that Natalya began as she approached them, which she was only met with confused faces, “But I’m going to the University of Dark Arts.”

“WHAT!?” The three of them had said in unison. Monika, who had been shocked to hear such a thing, immediately approached the girl and grabbed her shoulders, “Natalya, you’re crazy! You can’t just do that!” 

“Yeah!” Mei nodded in agreement before crossing her arms, “It’s way too dangerous! The witches want _you_ dead, so if you go there that’ll just check another thing off their list!” 

It took Natalya about twenty minutes or so to explain to the girls, calmly as she could, what exactly was going on. She wasn’t planning on approaching the witches, which was why Florentyna and the heroes were there to help her. The witches were very powerful with the dragon flame and heart of ice. Since she was born with the power and knew how it worked, she could tell them how to fight the attacks. 

They were using her own attacks against them. So for Natalya to know what the weaknesses were, she planned on using them. It was one weird way to go at it, seeing that they were her own weaknesses - but she had no other choice. 

When giving the full-on explanation to the girls, this seemed to calm them down a bit. At least now she got them in her favor. If she couldn’t, she would have to leave anyway with her friends being angry at her. 

Before she had left, she had given the group of three girls a group hug. It was her way of expressing that she appreciated their acceptance and understanding of the situation that was going on.

“What is it you say on Earth…?” Tatyana couldn’t help but let out a little sniffle while rubbing her eyes. What Natalya wasn’t expecting was there to be tears, but of course, since Tatyana was sensitive, she could understand why, “B-Break a leg?” 

“Mhm,” Natalya gently cupped the other’s cheek and gave her a reassuring smile. That was indeed rare because she only smiled whenever she was in a good mood. And well, she was feeling confident about the mission, “Yeah. But good luck is enough," 

Florentyna had already said her goodbyes to the rest of the group and had been standing behind Natalya with her scepter in the air. She had already been explained by Natalya what the transportation spell was, so when the other was finished, they could leave.

The two men and Natalya had been standing in a circle around Florentyna. This was where the fairy of the sun and the moon had held the scepter up and filled her power, thus resulting in it to begin glowing.

“ _Accio Wingardium_ , Florentyna.” Natalya had spoken out to the fairy in front of her to remind her what to say, “Got it?” 

With a nod, Florentyna swung the scepter now and had shouted loudly with her mind in focus;

“ _Accio Wingardium!”_

A bright glow had filled the environment, which made the group of fairies and other specialists who had been watching them disappear shield their eyes from the brightness. Within seconds, they were gone from the scene.

This didn’t ignore the fact though that the screeches and loud noises from the creatures beginning to raid the area disappearing. Another battle was now about to begin. This time, it would be the second one, and Tatyana, Monika, and Mei would be there to assist as well. 

“Ready, ladies?” Monika had looked at the other two fairies, who had nodded and jumped into the air to join the rest of the first year fairies to fight.

The strategy for this battle was that while all heroes were on the ground fighting, the fairies would be in the air sending their own attacks. That way, there could be attacks in every direction to make sure that none of the monsters managed to bring more destruction to the school. 

Traveling to the University for witches and warlocks only took them a few seconds. Though in this case, the spell that Natalya had told Florentyna to repeat wasn’t necessarily to get them inside the actual school, per say. Instead, she had given the spell to transport them underneath the school… 

...Or in this case, the basement. 

The reasoning why Natalya gave the other the wrong spell was because they had to be discreet that they were even showing up in the first place. The Tower of the Dead was absolutely dangerous, so if they were to make a scene with their arrival, the witches would go after them immediately

“I’m sorry, but,” Florentyna spoke out upon realizing that they weren’t in the actual hallways of the school, “Isn’t this like… The basement?” 

“Yes,” Natalya began and dusted herself off. Even if she didn’t have magic, it still was a weird feeling to be transported from one area to another, “If we showed up out of nowhere, the witches would attack. Which is why we need to be discreet about this whole ‘sneaking business’ here.”

Alfred and Gilbert couldn’t help but look at each other with a bit of amusement to their expressions. Not only was Natalya prepared for this, but she was genuinely smart. It was almost as if she had a whole plan of how this brief journey to the school would take place. 

First thing’s first, they needed to figure out a way upstairs.

“So how are we going to get up to the upper levels?” Gilbert had asked after a moment since it didn’t seem like no one knew where to go at that point. 

The two girls were silent when hearing this because it was true. They didn’t know where to go. 

Natalya looked around the area that they were in. They were in a basement, yes… But, there seemed to be an awful amount of doors. That’s when it clicked. She approached one of the doors and opened it slowly, only to reveal a dungeon cell. 

So it wasn’t just any basement.

“We’re in the dungeon of the school,” Natalya couldn’t help but speak with a bit of amusement as she glanced over at Alfred with a grin. 

“Don’t start,” He said instantly; shoving the girl directly into the cells of the dungeon while motioning the other two to follow. By the sheer embarrassment on his face, especially with how red his cheeks became when the woman smirked at him, he didn’t need to be reminded of something she knew.

The only reason why she had been smirking was because of how he said that his ‘ultimate sexual fantasy’ was to, well, do some sort of role-playing with a dungeon setting which she wasn’t opposed to doing. After all, the damn man was a pervert. But expected for any guy his age, which regardless of the fact, she did still love him even if he was weird.

Natalya considered herself weird as well.

“There should be a staircase somewhere.” Natalya continued on after being pushed in; taking a moment to observe the scene. It was a simple hallway, but down against each wall had doors that presented cells. The only source of light being from smaller lights that were hung up on the ceiling. “I think we should check each cell though. Headmistress Evanora has been missing, and I know Radella had asked us to look for her while we were here. Maybe she’s in here with the rest of the students.”

That was something they could all agree upon; search around the cells first to see if they could find anyone. 

If they were to, then they’d be able to get some information on how to access the upper floors of the school. If they found the Headmistress, this was the opportunity for them to also get more information on what she knew about the witches when they were students there.

One by one, the group had split and individually opened the door cells. To their luck, the dungeon seemed to be a long hallway with multiple doors, so there wouldn’t be any turning or getting lost. 

The issue was that there were _too_ many doors. How could they find people who were trapped in there were so many? Natalya was honestly getting tired herself after opening so many doors only to find nothing. That’s when she remembered, the group had magic.

“Florentyna, I’m going to ask for you to do another spell,” She began, which immediately got the fairy’s attention as she tilted her head innocently to listen to what the other had to say, “Could you say ‘Confringo Fonfundo’?” 

It was a locating spell. 

It would detect if there were any other lifeforms in the area. That would make things go by quickly. So with a nod, the fairy had held her scepter out and closed her eyes before speaking in a normal, serious tone, “ _Congringo Fonfundo,_ ” 

An orb of magic had burst from her scepter into multiple orbs. This caught the men’s attention who was still looking through each cell. The said orb began traveling down the hallway, which Natalya had immediately begun to follow. The three individuals who saw her do this immediately followed her, because well if there was anyone who knew what they were doing, it was her.

The orb eventually stopped at a cell door. Inside it, it had been silent, but it began flashing to indicate that there indeed had been someone inside it. 

“How can we get it open?” Natalya asked as she looked over at the men, thinking for a moment before remembering, “Alfred, didn’t you mention to me once you know how to pick locks?”

Florentyna and Gilbert immediately shot a look at Alfred in surprise. Mainly over the fact that he was a Prince who knew how to pick locks, which was why they wanted to know how the hell he knew how to do that. 

“We’d need a hairpin though, babe,” Alfred began, acknowledging the fact that he did know how to.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Gilbert looked at Alfred and glared at him, “You know how to pick locks, and you never told me!? And you said you weren’t the guy who broke down doors - what about three weeks ago when I wanted that damn beer but the kitchen door at UHB was locked?!”

The entire time Gilbert had been questioning the other, Florentyna had reached into her hair and pulled out a pin. Of course, she’d have one, she was always with any tool that came to styling hair. So as the fairy handed it over to Alfred, he had begun opening it up and let his friend bicker about it.

“Because I’m not a sneaky guy dude, and you wanted to steal alcohol from the school’s kitchen,” Alfred began before approaching the door that his girlfriend was at. It was there that he knelt down and looked into the keyhole before beginning to fiddle around with it. 

If he could get it at the right angle with the hairpin, then he’d be able to unlock it. He ignored Gilbert’s bickering the entire time and instead focused on the task. Natalya had been watching closely the entire time since she genuinely wished she knew how to pick a lock. Her older sister back home knew how to, but she always refused to teach her because she didn’t want Natalya to know those weird skills. 

A small click was heard from Alfred when he had hit the correct lock. He couldn’t help but to grin slowly now in success, a bit proud of himself that he still knew how to do it. Once it was unlocked, he slowly stood up and reached to twist the handle. The group stood behind him though just in case of anything, which had been the smart call. Since when he did open the door, there stood just about ten witches and the Headmistress with their hands full and glowing of magic.

Did they think that they were the witches? 

“Look out!” Florentyna had immediately flown over and pushed Alfred out of the way; holding her hands out to form a shield, “Headmistress Evanora! It’s us! We were sent here by Radella!” She began, still keeping the shield up just in case since who knows what they would do. 

When Evanora had recognized the said voices, she held her hands up to her students, “Stop the spell!” What it seemed like they were doing was that they had heard the fiddling at the door. Thus, resulting in them to group up to form a convergence spell. If it were to be the three witches, they would’ve used the spell to wipe it out… But now seeing that it was a rescue team, she couldn’t help but be a bit relieved. 

She then took a step down from the bed she had been standing on. Just inside the dungeon cell, it had been huge. The witches must’ve used a spell to increase the size of that one room since there had been hundreds of students inside it. Probably what they wanted to do was to make sure that everyone was inside one room, so that way they could keep a tally on who may have escaped. 

“I’m glad to see that Radella’s figured out that something has happened here,” Evanora began and looked over at the team that the other headmistress had sent, “We appreciate it a lot,” 

“Everyone’s taking refuge at Lenfia,” Natalya explained to the Headmistress; a stern expression on her face, “You should get yourself there immediately. Florentyna will be able to send you and all of your students there since it seems that the witches are planning one grand attack and we need to defend Lenfia as much as we can."

Hearing such a serious tone of voice from the young fairy was a bit astonishing to the Headmistress. She was aware that she had gone through a lot the past couple of days, thus why she figured she wouldn’t question it. Instead, she gave a gentle smile to the girl and nodded to indicate that she understood the statement.

“Well, I must admit…” She began, taking a step towards the girl to examine her. Radella was indeed right… Natalya was a spitting image of the Queen. Not only in appearance but that determination and strength in that voice, “It’s damn good to know someone from the Braginsky family is alive,” She spoke and placed a hand on Natalya’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’ll show you the way up to the corridors before we go.” 

This made the girl’s expression soften a bit, especially since she wasn’t expecting to hear that statement. Did Radella tell the other Headmistress what all had happened? 

The headmistress led the group of four over to a mirror. The thing that was different about the dungeon was the fact that there were no doors. The entrance had been through a mirror. As they stood in front of the said mirror, Evanora had stuck her hand through it to explain how it worked.

“All you have to do is walk in and you’ll be brought into the corridors,” She explained and pulled her hand back towards herself, “Though I must warn you - there are most likely guards formed through the creatures of darkness that are under the witches command. So you need to be as discreet as you can to make sure they don’t see you.” 

That was an easy enough statement. Sneaking past the guards, Natalya personally didn’t know how they’d do it, but she did know how to be careful in stressful situations such as this one. 

Once being given all the details of how the school worked, this was when Florentyna had summoned her scepter yet again. This time, to send the witches and the headmistress over to Lenfia to ensure that they’ll be able to find some help. 

With saying the same spell that Natalya had explained to her, she had held the said scepter up in the air as it glew. Followed by this, she held it in the direction of the headmistress and witches before one by one, they began to disappear as they transported over to Lenfia. There may have been a battle already going on at the campus, but they should be able to take shelter inside the school to rest before participating in the battle. 

At least they were able to find the missing witches and Headmistress. The Heads of the other two schools would be relieved to know that everyone was okay and no one was hurt. So now that had been taken care of, that resulted in the second part of their journey…

…Which was sneaking through the corridors.

Upon approaching the mirror, Alfred had insisted that he go in first because he didn’t know what exactly it would lead them too. There was also the fact that his Prince instincts were kicking in too. A natural born leader wanting to put himself first before his people. Natalya wasn’t opposed and instead simply watched him as he stepped inside the mirror and disappeared.

“Trippy,” Florentyna couldn’t help but comment when she watched Gilbert step inside next, then followed by her. Afterward, Natalya had been the last. 

It was indeed a trippy, weird experience going through the mirror. As the Headmistress said, they were indeed taken to a staircase that should lead to the corridors. All they could hope was that it wasn’t heavily guarded and they would be able to sneak through without any issues. 

However, the second they had stepped through the mirror was directly into an area that had the witches' magic everywhere. To pick up the fact that there was another user of magic in the school wasn’t hard for them to detect.

Specifically, Florentyna being in her fairy form being this indicator.

As the group began to make their way up the stairs, a large creature that had an eyeball growing out of its head followed them directly on the ceiling. Due to its camouflage appearance, the group hadn’t been able to notice it at all. It had squinted its eye to get a close-up of each individual’s faces. With its task to inform the witches in case of intruders, it was exactly doing such.

The witches currently had been up in Headmistress Evanora’s office. Nebula and Aviana had been in the process of summoning more creatures of the dark to be sent over to Lenfia, while Gelinda was putting together the finalized plan to destroy the school and capture the princess once and for all. 

Though, when she noticed that the orb that was connected to the eyeball creature began to glow, her brows raised in amusement. 

The witch closed the book that she had been devising her plan from and took a step over to the ball. Her hand hung over it to receive the message that she was getting from one of her little guards. Her eyes widened within seconds from just recognizing the faces. A feeling of anger began to build up in the witch.

How the hell did they get in!? 

But then, she realized…

…This could work in her favor. 

“Sisters…” Gelinda began as she placed a hand on the orb and turned to face the other two women who had stopped summoning the demons of the dark now that their attention was called out to, “We have guests.” 

The other two witches were silent upon hearing this. Guests? As in, intruders in the school? That was impossible. The school was heavily guarded, so how were they able to bypass the strict security they had enforced? Their guards were to bring intruders to them immediately. 

“Natalya is here, and she isn’t alone,” She explained and took a step away from the orb. Gelinda could just watch as Nebula and Aviana’s calm expressions transition into annoyed, pained ones because they all weren’t in the mood to deal with them, “Stay relaxed, though. Remember, we have the dragon flame and heart of ice. This is our opportunity to get another task checked from our list and eliminate her… The best part, in front of her little friends.” 

Loud laughter ensued from the said witch when she had said this. Yes, the thing that their ancestors weren’t even able to do in the first place. 

Eliminate the princess… They succeeded in eliminating the King, putting a queen under a curse and sending the other children of the royal family to oblivion - but the youngest child? 

This was their opportunity to be more successful than the mighty ancestral ones. 

Meaning, within the corridors, the group had reached the top of the stairs only to soon be astonished to find out that there weren’t any guards in the area. This was off-putting; bringing discomfort specifically to the two girls’ stomachs at how dead silent it was. Let alone, how open it was with no guards.

The group closed the door that they came from and all stood there. All of them seemed confused by the situation, seeing that they truly were expecting to be fighting some monsters in the hallways. Evanora warned them that there were going to be monsters.

Where were they?

“This is weird,” Alfred couldn’t help but to begin and reached for his sword. Just in case, he’d have it on hand, “Why aren’t there any guards around? Wouldn’t the witches have this place heavily guarded?”

“Either way dude, I’m not complaining,” Gilbert responded, though he kept a grip around the handle of his sword as well.

When hearing Alfred's comment on the corridor's appearance, Natalya turned her head to him and nodded. She was glad to see that his smart side was kicking in and noticed the environment, “I agree with Alfred,” She expressed before proceeding onwards to walk, “This is too weird. I feel like they would only pull this sort of stunt because they know we’re here,” 

At that point in time, she didn’t even know if the witches knew they had snuck in. Even if they didn’t, it was still weird for there to not be guards at all. 

This didn’t stop the group from continuing forward. This area of the corridor consisted of a long hallway with multiple dorms - almost similar in structure to the dungeons. What it must’ve been was a hallway that circled around in one part of the school, and in order to access another part a person would have to take stairs or travel through a mirror. 

What was agreed on was to simply continue walking until they could find something. It was too risky to peek into rooms and try to find a clue to be led to the dragon flame and heart of ice. 

If the witches had figured out that they were there and this was part of their plan to attack, they had to be on high alert.

The unexpected part of walking through the hallway was reaching an end of it to be greeted to one thing.

A large door.

That was what made things officially weirder than it seemed. 

The door seemed to be locked at first until it slowly opened through instinct. Was it a magical door that detected whenever there was someone there? The group looked at each other in confusion. While Natalya had the intention to walk right in, Alfred had held a hand out and stopped her.

“I’ll look inside first,” He explained and looked at her with a serious expression, “What if they’re in there and already have an attack ready for you, huh?” 

He did have a point. The fact of this mission was that she had to be the one to reobtain her power. If something were to happen to her or they were to fail on recapturing the dragon flame and heart of ice - then the magical dimension may as well be nonexistent at this point. 

Natalya nodded to Alfred’s terms and let him be the one to peek through the open door. She shouldn’t be making risky decisions, but she hated the fact that she had to stay back when she was the one who loved to fight. What they were expecting to see were the witches to be standing there with their hands full of power, ready to attack….

...Yet, there was no one inside. 

Alfred rose a brow in confusion and turned to face the group, which had been waiting for him to say something. But, nothing came out of him. He motioned them to take a step forward inside because he didn’t see anything.

Even if they were stepping inside, Florentyna and Gilbert had stepped inside first before Natalya did as followed. What they were exposed to had been the sight of a flame dancing in the middle of the room. 

A singular flame with nothing surrounding it. On a golden podium, it rested in the middle of the room - allowing for the group of four to have full exposure to it. The flame danced around in a circle; as if it were taunting the group to take a chance towards it. But alas, the group kept their distance. Natalya on the other hand found herself drawn to it, but it all felt wrong.

Something didn’t feel right at all.

“Well, not as dramatic as I thought,” Florentyna couldn’t help but comment before approaching the flame with slight interest, despite the discomfort that radiated from the heroes and her friend. She tilted her head now before thinking and turning to face Natalya, “Hey, is this the dragon flame?” 

...Was it? 

Natalya took her turn now to approach where Florentyna was standing. When she did, she glanced down at the said flame that had been dancing and looked hard at it. 

No, it couldn’t be it. 

Her powers only existed when it was inside someone. For the witches to put a random flame in an open room like that, it didn’t make sense.

_There is dark power in this room. You need to run, now._

A voice filled her head that had kicked in her instincts. The same voice that came to her if something was wrong. Natalya looked down at the flame once more, only to feel her eyes widen in shock upon seeing the flame slowly form into a block of ice.

She quickly turned around and pushed Florentyna to the side before reaching to the belt she was wearing and taking out the shield that Elijah had given her, “Watch out, they’re here!” 

It was as if on cue when Natalya had said that, a burst of magic had come from the door. Fortunately for the men when they had gotten the warning from Natalya, they had taken out their own shields that had taken the hit from the magic that came in their direction. 

The entire time they stood there, the sounds of one person applauding while laughter behind it filled the empty space.

_“Well well well, congratulations,”_

_“The Princess really does have wonderful instincts.”_

_“I wonder if that’s the only thing Natasha learned from Earth, hm?”_

Natalya had pressed the button on her shield to make it close so she could get a better visual of the witches. Just seeing them standing at the door with crazed expressions on their face along with their hands glowing with power… 

It was a living nightmare once more. 

She couldn’t help but have a flashback to the horrors of when they captured her in her own home on Earth and stole her power in the first place. The way they restrained her, practically reached into her soul and heart to rip out the magic that flowed through her body - it was a traumatic moment. And to be making eye contact with the leader of it all, Gelinda’s piercing blue eyes glaring right at her, it was as if she were reliving the nightmare.

“Did you like our little prank?” Gelinda had been the first to speak out while motioning over to the fake flame they had put together. She was right. It was a trick for them to walk into the room so the witches could catch them.

They knew all along that they had snuck into the University. Perhaps when they were downstairs in the dungeon they didn’t know about it, but the second they crossed into the corridors, they knew. With the snap of her fingers, the flame that had once was lit and formed into ice, was once again a flame.

“You know, having the powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice makes spells so much easier and fun to do,” Aviana couldn’t help but to grin while holding her hand out as the fairy magic was exposed. From what Natalya had been witnessing, it seems that they were taunting her at this point, “Too bad you’re just an Earth girl again,” 

“Face it, Natalya,” Nebula had finished off and taken a step towards the girl. This was where Natalya had kept a hand behind her back; keeping a grip on the handle of her sword just in case the witches tried to attack, “Sneaking in here and thinking that you’ll get your powers back is… Pathetic. We’re stronger than you are, which is why we’ve prepared this room for you.” 

Prepared this room? For what exactly? She kept silent, unsure of what to even say to the witches since she didn’t want to present herself as stupid in the situation.

“Say hello to your grave, Natalya,” Loud laughter filled the room when Gelinda had said this out loud. With her hands in fists and magic forming around it, this managed to catch Natalya’s attention.

Were they planning to kill her? She knew that the ancestral witches had the goal of eliminating her as a baby… But since they failed to do so, was this what the witches also had in mind of doing after letting her suffer a bit without her power? 

She wouldn’t go down without a fight. 

Before the witches had sent their attacks over, she had pulled out the sword and shield that she was given and placed it in front of herself. The attacks that were sent by Gelinda had hit against the shield. While it didn’t take that much damage, it did have a lot of pressure to have the girl flying back and hitting the wall with a loud groan.

“Oh, come on…” Gelinda had slowly begun approaching the girl who had been on the ground, “You come to us with those weapons? Haven’t you learned that weapons are useless to magic?” 

Natalya slowly opened her eyes to see the witch begin approaching her. She seemed the most eager in the situation to take her out quickly and painfully. Yes, she knew the witch had a point about weapons, but she was fighting as an individual who lost her magic… And so, she intended on continuing to fight for the sake of her family and the magical dimension. 

What had caught her attention though was when glancing over Gelinda’s shoulder had been the sight of Alfred, Gilbert and Florentyna already getting to work. Since the witches were so focused on Natalya, Gilbert and Alfred had the chance to tackle down the other two witches and cover their mouths with a magic kind of fabric that even if they screamed, no one could hear it. Two witches were taken down, now one to go…

…Which meant it was Florentyna’s turn.

The Fairy of the Sun held her scepter up in the air that was filled with magic. As she did so, she had been in the air herself above Gelinda with a grin on her face.

“Forgetting about us, ya fuckin’ witch?” 

The said witch didn’t have a chance to respond to the statement that was given to her by Florentyna. Thus, only seconds after the fairy had formed her spell, she had sent a burst of magic to Gelinda’s direction. The witch had gone flying to the end of the room; hitting against the wall where Natalya was once before the girl had gotten up and ran to be beside Florentyna. 

Natalya was only the distraction, which gave the rest of the team time to devise a quick plan. A plan that managed to work temporarily. The three witches were down. While it was impossible to fight them with the current conditions that there were, at least they were able to figure out that to regain her power, it wasn’t that easy of a process.

Florentyna held her scepter up in the air while the men had picked up the restrained witches and threw them over without any sort of hesitation over to where Gelinda had been on the ground. They had to get out of there, especially since they knew they had no chance against them at all. 

This was where an idea came into Natalya’s mind to get them trapped temporarily, “Florentyna,” She began and looked at the fairy who immediately turned to face the other, “Can you do another spell for me?”

The other wasn’t opposed to this suggestion at all. In response to that statement, she had proceeded to nod in agreement before Natalya had continued to explain, “Levoara horishomo galaca. I need you to say that and just hold up your scepter. Focus on the nature of the environment.” 

The spell that Natalya had been explaining to the fairy was one that was taught in their environments of magic class. Professor Polonium had explained that the spell was usually used to summon all sorts of parts of the environment to one room. Mountains, trees, or even thorns and roots could be summoned. 

But if done correctly, she had also learned from Tatyana that the damage of the spell could be powerful enough that even magical beings couldn’t stop it.

That was the intention that she was planning. With this spell, not only would they be able to summon what the environment offers, but they would be able to form layers after layers to keep the witches trapped for a while. This would give them time to not only escape, but to prepare for the next battle at Lenfia. 

“ _Levoara…”_ Florentyna’s scepter began to glow within seconds as the magic filled the entire room, “ _Horishomo galaca!”_

Around the witches, vines began to form and wrap around them one by one tightly. Followed by this, mountains had grown from the ground to form the first layer of the trap. Icicles, trees - layers after layers of walls made out of items from the environment began to fill the room. 

“Let’s get out of here!” Alfred had called out to the group. This was their cue, and so, he had been the one to motion out everyone through the door before securing it shut. The spell would hold the witches for a while, but he had given up his own sword to keep the door firmly locked down the handles. 

That should keep them trapped for a while. By the sounds of Gelinda screaming and magic blasting from inside it, that meant they didn’t have enough time. 

The two heroes and two girls all began running down the hallway which they first came from. Upon further inspection of the exact corridor they were in, it seemed to be that there were a ton of dorms. 

Dorms that had windows, which was their opportunity to escape. 

Alfred had been the one to break down a door with his foot before motioning the group to get inside. Once they were, he shut it and locked the door before approaching a window. A hero who was in a hurry would’ve just shattered the glass, but he didn’t want any glass flying. With reaching into his pocket, he had taken out a pen that had also been a laser.

Convenient for a situation such as this one.

He pressed the top of the pen and the laser began to do its work. With swift moments, he had cut a large enough hole through the window so that way the group would be able to slide out of it. What seemed to be outside was a large ledge, so they wouldn’t fall at all so long as they were careful.

Natalya was the first to slide out seeing that Alfred, Gilbert, and Florentyna were more insistent on her going. It made sense, seeing that the witches were on a very high alert and were breaking down the layers of wall that Florentyna had formed to trap them. 

Outside they had been standing on what seemed to be part of a roof. There had been multiple roofs of the school due to its many sections and halls. To climb out the window to land on a roof wasn’t surprising at all. There was one issue though.

How were they going to get down? 

One thing that they were lucky about with having heroes with them during this journey was the fact that they had access to technology no one was ever able to use. For this instance, the two men had reached into their belts to take out something that looked like a miniature boat. But upon throwing it out to the flat service of the roof, all it took was a few seconds for them to turn into bikes.

The two girls looked at each other in amazement at what they had witnessed. 

Heroes could even use technology that could turn into bikes? 

“Dang, I want one,” Florentyna couldn’t help but comment before being greeted to the sight of a helmet being handed to her by Gilbert. A helmet as well be handed over to Natalya by Alfred.

They both put it on before Natalya had joined Alfred on his bike, while Florentyna had joined Gilbert on his bike. They had turned the engines on quickly before riding off from the area. 

This meant jumping from roof to roof for each lower level. When they had reached the main entrance of the school, this was where the men began to ride off as fast as they could. Natalya the entire time had her eyes widen in amazement at how quickly the men were with planning the escape route. Florentyna wasn’t the kind of girl to be riding bikes, thus she seemed a bit more hesitant and kept her eyes closed the entire time.

What wasn’t discussed with the girls was that in case an emergency like this had happened, they had a plan in mind. 

The group rode through the forest while rain began to downpour. The sounds of creatures began to fill the environment with their roars and screeches, which was uncomfortable for all of them. 

This was a sign though that the final battle would be coming. 

Once the witches managed to escape from the trapped room, they would immediately be heading to Lenfia. 

A look was exchanged with both men when they believed they were a far enough distance. So with a nod, this was when Natalya noticed something. 

While Gilbert had been turning his bike _left…_

...Alfred had been going _right_. 

She sat up a bit in her seat as she looked down at the man who was bracing himself to be yelled at. And just as he expected, that’s what happened.

“What are you doing!?” Natalya began and gripped onto the other’s shoulder; giving it a squeeze to express her confusion. What she thought was that they were going back to Lenfia together. Why were they splitting from Gilbert and Florentyna, “Alfred!?—”

“Listen Nat,” She was soon interrupted by the other speaking. Her eyes widened now since she was now intrigued yet interested in what he had to say, “Gilbert and I were talkin’, and the witches are pissed. This means that they’re planning to go to Lenfia to go after _you_ ,” He explained to her, “So we’re taking a longer route to get to Lenfia. They’re going to get there before us to let the heads know the witches are coming, and my job is well…” He turned to face her for a brief second before a smile drew to his face, “…to protect you.” 

Her eyes widened the entire time she sat on that bike. In other words, he was bringing her to safety. It was all weird to her still that she was considered one of the most powerful individuals of the magical dimension. The truth was that _she_ was technically of much higher class than Alfred if he was a prince… 

...Yet, there she was, being forced into protection rather than fighting. 

And she despised it. Natalya could feel her grip tightening on the other’s shoulder. The thought of how she had to be protected when she wanted to fight aggravated her - but he was right. She couldn’t fight. Sure, she could use weapons to a certain extent, but if she was jumped on by three witches with powerful magic when she had nothing to defend herself?

She was as good as dead.

The response that Natalya had given to Alfred was similar to the one that Florentyna had given for Gilbert. Instead of her yelling at him, she began simply asking a multitude of questions by starting off with the famous, “What the hell are you doing!?” 

She received the same explanation that Natalya got by Gilbert, which got her to go silent. They were splitting from the other two so Alfred could protect her and she could go back to Lenfia to be with the rest of the students. The witches probably thought that Natalya would be at Lenfia, so they must’ve been planning a huge attack to make sure they have the opportunity to eliminate her. 

It was probably the right call. At Lenfia she could use her magic to help protect and prepare the school for the witches’ attack. All she hoped was by the time Natalya made it there with Alfred, nothing would be destroyed and they would be victorious with their battle. 

Meanwhile, with the other two, they still had been riding up ahead. Where they were going; well, Natalya didn’t know. She didn’t get as much detail because after she had questioned Alfred, he was avoiding to answer her questions. Which was why she became persistent.

“Okay smartass,” She began while keeping her arms around him so she wouldn’t fall off the bike. At that point, she had leaned forward a bit so she could try to make eye contact with him, but with the helmets, they were wearing, it was kind of impossible, “We escaped and you pretty much called me a damn damsel in distress, which makes me want to throw up. Did you have a plan for after that?” 

A plan… Truthfully, he kind of did but didn’t know if it would be the right choice. What Alfred believed was that if he could bring Natalya to Magix, he may be able to get in contact with someone from his family to send over a hovercraft. That way, if he wanted to keep her as safe as possible, he could possibly bring her to his Kingdom.

The issue though was that he didn’t want to go to his Kingdom. He didn’t think Natalya would want to go either. It was a situation where they wanted to stay and fight, but they couldn’t really due to being limited on sources and such. That was when he got an idea. 

He slowly turned up the acceleration of the bike so they could move faster ahead, “Remember that museum we visited and you saw a picture of the royal family? And you said that you recognized their faces?”

There was a period of silence that came from her being asked the question. This was a question she wasn’t expecting to be asked about, but it was a reminder of the one moment where she did go on a date with Alfred in Magix. 

The museum in Magix had plenty of artifacts and information about the history of the magical dimension. The proposal of going together was given by Alfred, after she had been the one to tell him that she was in the process of wanting to better understand the dragon flame and heart of ice in association with Florentyna’s ring. 

Reading books wasn’t enough. The only information she was able to gather about the ring was that there was a potential chance it was created with the dragon flame and heart of ice as a source of its magic. And so, Alfred had proposed perhaps she’d be able to find information on Florentyna’s ring in the museum. 

The museum consisted of information for every planet that had ever existed. Even for dead planets, such as Sparx, there was information listed that would inform anyone new coming into the world.

In addition to the history of dead planets, it also came with the destruction of Sparx. Walking around this museum, Natalya recalled being greeted to the sight of portraits of the royal family and reading on information that she didn’t really pay attention to. Let alone, she didn’t pay attention to who the figures are seeing that she was more focused on wanting to learn more about the powers.

And she did manage to get some information on the dragon flame and heart of ice. There were the details of the guardian fairy of the magical dimension and other royal things, but that wasn’t important at the time. Part of Natalya at that moment found herself frustrated not remembering such a thing, but Alfred, surprisingly, had been the one to remind her of it.

The grip that she had on his shoulder loosened a tad. It was there that the girl had leaned forward and rested her chin on his shoulder, curious and intrigued to hear why he had proposed such a thing, “What about it?” 

Despite everything that’s been going on, she figured she’d be open ears to suggestions by the other. She was also scared, but she didn’t want to admit it that easily. After all, she was technically still a teenager, and having to deal with all this chaos is nothing that a girl her age should be experiencing. 

“Maybe there can be some answers there,” He explained, “We couldn’t find a way to get your powers back at the Tower of the Dead, but maybe the history of your powers, which is there, can give us another clue.”

He was right about this. There was a lot of information there about the dragon flame and heart of ice. Not a lot about Florentyna’s ring, which was why she had ended up suggesting they leave the museum during that one day. Natalya was surprised that Alfred had remembered such details from that day.

To it, she found herself leaning forward and placing a small kiss against his cheek.

It was a response the male wasn’t expecting to see from the girl. He continued riding forward of course; the familiar buildings of Magix coming into the clear distance now that they drove more and more.

Even if they were close, Natalya found herself pausing in the midst of the moment, “...Can I say thank you?”

A snort managed to come from between Alfred’s lips when he heard this. What was she talking about? “For what?” He turned his head briefly to look at her, “For protecting you?”

“...Well, that… But,” Usually she wasn’t the type of person to be good with thanking or complimenting others. It was why it was an inside joke with her friends that she was the introvert of them all. That introvert-ness was making an appearance, especially seeing how the girl had hidden her face against his shoulder, “For helping me. For giving great ideas. I feel like no one’s been saying that to you, and you need to hear it because… You really do look like a hero.”

What felt like a smirk formed on Alfred’s lips. There was something about hearing Natalya compliment him that amused him… Especially since she was _never_ the type of person to compliment others, “Really? And this is coming from the mouth from a girl that refuses to compliment things? Is this a dream?”

“Shut up, I’m serious,” Her face was still pressed into his shoulder. While she did so, she kept her arms wrapped around his shoulders; almost as if she were embracing him at the moment, “Just… thank you… For being my hero.”

The hero compliment was something that Alfred found himself being prideful in. Yet, the mention of him being _her_ hero? This was something that Alfred felt his heart skip a beat to. This girl - the one he was in love with - she was known to be feisty. Arrogant on occasion, but he still found it adorable. The fact that he not only found out that she was a Princess, but a very high-class Princess that considered him _her_ hero?

He was glad to have managed to find a nearby tree to stop and hide his bike. From there, he had set the brakes intact and climbed off - helping her off. Though just before allowing her to say more, he had helped her pull her helmet off before pulling her into a tight embrace. 

He felt like the happiest guy in the entire world.

“Hey,” As Alfred had said this, he had reached down to cup the girl’s cheeks. She was looking down, almost as if she were embarrassed to have to admit that - but why be embarrassed? She was telling him the truth, and they did just talk about being more honest with each other. “I love you. And when this whole damn thing blows over, let’s just… Go on a vacation. Together. Because you’re my Princess and there’s no one else I want to end this battle with except you by my side.”

Natalya could feel her cheeks slowly begin to turn pink. If there was one thing she hadn’t been expecting, it was the fact that despite him having a plan to bring her to Magix, that they would take a brief moment to pause behind that tree.

“...I love you too, Alfred.” Saying this out loud was a phrase she wanted to tell him after that whole mess had happened at UHB with that Alice girl who had attacked her.

She did love him. Another ongoing joke between her friends and family was that she wouldn’t ever find love, but she really did feel a special connection with Alfred. And it was behind that tree was where the two had leaned forward towards one another and shared what had been an intimate kiss.

A kiss that was lusted for since reuniting on Sparx.

The decision of hiding behind that tree was a continuation of Alfred’s plan. While they could technically continue onwards to Magix by bike, it would be much safer to continue on foot. If there were monsters in Magix, they could be easily detected due to the fact that they were on a bike with a loud motor. 

Parting away from the kiss, there was a small smile on Alfred’s lips before he had leaned forward to place a kiss against the girl’s head in reassurance that everything would be okay. With that, he had approached the bike now to press what looked to be a red button. One push was all it took for the bike to turn small - almost as if it were a game piece to a board game before he slipped it into a slot on his belt.

…And thus, the couple began to walk.

* * *

Just as Natalya, Florentyna, Alfred, and Gilbert had been expecting before - it didn’t take long for the witches to break out of the trap that Florentyna set with nature.

They were all angered over the fact that the group had managed to getaway. In addition, they weren’t expecting for Natalya to escape that easily when she was already in their grasp. 

It wasn’t an easy process for them to escape from the trap. All of them had to use their powers combined multiple times in order to break down the layers of walls Florentyna had formed. By the time they had reached the door of the room, it was absolutely silent. The group had already escaped and there was nothing that could be done about it.

The silence remained amongst the three of them because they refused to discuss what had happened. A _fairy_ managed to take all three of them down thanks to the help of another intelligent fairy who didn’t even have her powers. All in their minds right now were what they focused on was revenge. 

Revenge to not only destroy Lenfia, but to destroy the Princess for outsmarting them. 

They all had met in the office upon escaping the trap before approaching the book of dark spells that could be used with the dragon flame and heart of ice. Their priority was to immediately summon the army of decay in its most utmost power once again for one final battle.

A battle that would hopefully wipe out Lenfia, eliminate the Princess and be their gateway to taking over the magical dimension as theirs.

“Aviana, Nebula,” Gelinda had flipped to the said page of the spellbook so they could begin the process. As she did so, the other two witches stood beside her and watched her flip to the exact page that they needed to read off of, “The time has come to not only destroy Lenfia, but Princess Natasha herself. There must be no more time wasted. After Radella had her sent here when we politely offered her twelve hours to surrender, she pulled this stunt.”

Each witch had placed a hand out onto the book. With their eyes closed, what seemed to be two dragons began to form around them. The power of the dragon flame and heart of ice would make sure they were to successfully summon the army of dark creatures. When they had opened their eyes and connected to the power, their eyes glowed full of power. 

“ _Army of decay,”_ The group said in unison while slowly raising their hands. Dark magic began to fill around the room in response to the ritual beginning, “ _We summon thee to invade Lenfia and eliminate Princess Natasha Braginskaya for good. As the descendants of the ancestral witches, we ask thy to destroy every living creature that gets in our way. Find the Princess. Destroy anyone who opposes us.”_

The magic that was once circling around the three witches had flown out the nearby windows. Just outside the school, monsters began to crawl out of the ground consisting of large bugs or even bigger ones. The monsters though compared to the previous battles, were much bigger than before. At the entrance of the school, the creatures had also formed into three thrones so the witches could be seated and watch the battle unfold.

These thrones were made as to their first chariots of success and power. The plan was to ride to Lenfia as a group. That way, they would be able to not only watch the downfall, but also have the chance to sit back, relax, and watch as the magical dimension fell to their feet.

The creatures of the dark roars and screams filled throughout the area. They had been so loud that it managed to reach the ears of not only the individuals at Lenfia who were currently recovering from a second attack but Natalya and Alfred who were currently hand-in-hand, walking to Magix as he had suggested. 

“Please don’t tell me that’s my stomach,” Natalya couldn’t help but begin as she froze in place. Aside from all the chaos that had been happening, she was actually starving. So when hearing the sudden roars and screams, she tried to imagine what was something that could be as loud as that.

Hearing that statement made Alfred laugh for a second. At least she still had a bit of humor in her despite everything that’s happened so far. He looked around and tried to think of an idea. They couldn’t just start running. That would tire themselves out, especially since they were exhausted from everything that’s been going on.

“Okay, then it was mine,” He responded to that statement and grabbed her hand yet again to lead her forward. The more they stood there and chatted, the likelihood of whatever was screeching from afar would catch up to them, “Just keep walking. We’ll be there soon,” 

Sometimes she did have the tendency to hear things that actually weren’t there in her mind. Maybe hearing the screams and screeches were just her mind reminding her that the magical dimension was technically in some sort of war. What began to confuse her though was over all the screeches from what possibly were creatures of the dark, had been a woman’s voice.

_Natasha…_

The girl had frozen yet again. Alfred turned around to look at Natalya and ask if she was okay, but by just looking at her expression that was as if she weren’t paying attention - something had to be going on.

“Shh,” She held her hand out, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. The voice was indeed familiar, so if it was who she thought it was trying to communicate to her, then she knew she had to pay attention. 

_Keep going. Go to the museum in Magix, Natasha._

The voice continued while Natalya had been looking around. It wasn’t anywhere in sight… So it had to be some sort of telepathic message being sent to her.

_Go! You must hurry, there’s no time. The creatures of decay are coming for you._

By the time the voice had come to an end, the sounds of the screeches and screams became louder. Alfred at that point knew they couldn’t waste any more time, so without any sort of hesitation, he grabbed onto the girl’s hand and was sprinting.

They were only five minutes away from reaching the streets of Magix. Once they were there, then it would be another two minutes until they managed to get to the museum and reach the archive about the history of the magical dimension.

This was when the couple truly had the opportunity to see the damage that had taken place in the city. It was evacuated - no people to be found. Instead, destroyed buildings, cars, and even fires that had begun around buildings from the destruction. It was as if all citizens of the city had evacuated to other places since it seemed that the army originally had attacked it first.

Though while the sight was horrific, Alfred was more worried about the other who seemed to be quieter. It was almost as if Natalya were in her own little world as they ran. Not listening nor paying attention to the sights of the destroyed buildings. Instead, focused on going forward.

The more the sounds of the monsters filled the air, the more awareness was coming to the girl. It all began to take formation in her head and make sense. The monsters weren’t just going to Lenfia.

They were following her. 

It all clicked. Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula must’ve escaped Florentyna’s trap at that point. They must’ve wanted revenge. Revenge that would only be accomplished so long as the last child of the royal family was dead. Her realization was enough for her to go from a run to a full-on sprint. 

She had sprinted that fast to reach the museum that Alfred had been the one following her at that point with her speed. She must’ve been very eager to reach the archive, he couldn’t help but think.

The reality was that she was running for her life. Those monsters were after her, so if she was inside, she should be able to protect herself and Alfred until she was able to figure out what was waiting for her at the said museum.

The two had made it within half the time that Alfred had expected with how fast they were going. When they did arrive at the museum, Natalya had been the one to kick the door down and run inside. 

The second Alfred was in was when she had locked the door to the best of her ability. This specifically being her pushing tables and shelves that belonged to the museum to barricade it. There were monsters outside trying to go after her, so if they had just relied on a lock to keep them safe, they would be in huge trouble. 

“Okay, so we’re here,” Alfred looked over at Natalya and reached out to take out a small dagger from his belt of gear around his hips, just in case they needed it, “You lead the way on where to go, and I’ll follow,”

A nod of agreement was given by the girl. She knew where to go thanks to the voice communicating it in her head.

_Go all the way to the bottom of the museum._

The lower level would be the safest area for them to be in if they wanted to get the information about the dragon flame and heart of ice. Alyona would be meeting them there. 

Natalya walked over to the staircase that had been right at the entrance of the museum when a person first walked in. She began going down the stairs though, just as she was instructed. Once they reached the second to last level, she once again took the stairs. The museum had been dark but not too dark since there was a bit of light outside. 

However, due to it being completely abandoned, it brought a horrifying type of environment to the couple. If this were to be a video game or film, at that point zombies probably would’ve come out of the walls or something of the sort. It was creepy, and it made not only Natalya uncomfortable but Alfred as well. 

At the end of the stairs, the very bottom floor of the museum had more light than the two had been expecting. This was a floor that even Natalya didn’t know existed in the first place. When she came there with Alfred, she had been able to see the first and second floor - which was probably why they didn’t have the chance to visit the very last floor. 

What they weren’t expecting to see though had been portraits of Earth. 

This was where Natalya became confused. It was not only pictures of earth, but… It had been of her life with her adoptive family. She looked around at the portraits; absolutely speechless since she didn’t even know what to say in the first place.

Alfred had been speechless as well. He had been to Earth only a couple of times at that point, and already by just glancing at the images, he knew that this lower level couldn’t have been part of the actual museum. 

But then it began to all make sense. Looking around more, she had the chance to approach the portraits to observe the detail. It was very realistic to the point that she was shocked the last time she came to this museum, it wasn’t there. Yet, not it was.

“Of course…” Natalya couldn’t help but whisper to herself as her fingers trailed along with the hardened paint on the canvas. There was no possible way this was done with a painter… With how fresh it felt, let alone, the positive energy that radiated from it, “...This museum has the history of the magic dimension… And with the history of the magic dimension comes every bloodline of the ultimate powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice…” 

“...Come again, babe?” Alfred couldn’t help but turn on a light, just so he could examine the area. He was more confused than her, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t you get it?” Natalya had pulled her hand back; turning her head to face the other as the light of the flashlight showed in her direction, “The last time we came to this museum, we couldn’t find anything about the dragon flame and heart of ice… But by this powerful energy that’s just radiating here - there’s a source that’s allowing us to see it.”

A bright light glew in the room just as she had said this, followed by a powerful wind in the air. This had startled the couple, but it was enough to catch their attention to get them to look around. There wasn’t anyone there, but the light was enough to shine in the direction of what seemed to be a book. 

Natalya had taken a step away from the portrait. She could feel herself trembling from being startled and afraid. This was natural, seeing that they were in a position of not knowing where they were in. At first she had thought it was from the cold outside, but she was scared. 

Yet, there was something familiar being in that space with everything that she knew all around her. She couldn’t figure it out, but she was close.

“There’s someone here…” She had said simply when approaching the light that had shined towards the book. 

The book was one that she immediately recognized… It was similar to the one from the Tower of the Dead! The one with her name on it - yet had turned into a trap from the Headmistress when she and her friends had broken in to steal back Florentyna’s ring. She hesitated over it since she didn’t know if it was a trap.

“Who’s here?” The questions continued to come from Alfred as he approached the other, noticing the book that she was looking at, “...Natalya?”

“Someone… That I know.” Natalya had responded simply and reached over to the cover of the book, examining it. It had her name on Earth from it… But with one touch, it had turned from the simple lettering to her true name, “And that they’re making sure I feel like I’m at home.”

_Natasha Braginskaya._

There was nothing to be afraid of, she told herself. It couldn’t be a trap now similar to the one at the Tower of the Dead. And so, she had reached over and turned the cover of the book open to be greeted by another light. This light had been bright, resulting in the couple to shield their eyes once more. But after a moment, the light had lessened to reveal lettering on the very first page.

_You have always been a fortress._

_Always having cold secrets kept away from you._

_But you have secrets too._

_And you don’t have to hide from your true self._

Reading the text had her heart stop. As for what she and Alfred had read, she had no idea what it had meant. Secrets were something that was indeed kept away from her - but the secret of learning who she was is the biggest one she had ever experienced. However, she didn’t understand the portion of having to hide. 

She flipped to the next page now. This time, another bright light had formed and flown opposite in the direction of where they were standing. Alfred and Natalya had looked up, but then down to the book to see that it had a blank page. 

“Come on…” Natalya had reached over for the other’s wrist, as if she were beginning to drag him, “Follow it.”

Her instincts were kicking in at this point. That was the key. It wanted to show her something, but she didn’t understand what it was. Starting off with the book that was meant to be about her, to now be guiding her to another direction of the archive that they were in. She followed it, while Alfred continued to have his concerned expressions. 

“Show yourself…” Natalya had spoken out loud at the light. There was indeed someone there - she could feel it. Even if she didn’t have her powers, she could feel that there was another life source minus hers and Alfred’s in that space, “...Are you the one I’ve been looking for all of my life?…”

There was a moment of silence that came from Natalya when seeing that the orb had stopped moving. Now she understood what was going on. 

The orb had this time stopped in front of a portrait. This time, it had been a portrait of what seemed to be the King and Queen of the magical dimension. Her parents - before the small family they had created was born. A smile was brought to Natalya’s lips as she examined this portrait, all while Alfred had immediately recognized them on the spot from his status.

“I’m ready to learn.” Her head had slowly turned in the direction of the orb that had lingered upon the portrait. The voice was the one that had led her there - and now, she had been being guided by this light, “You brought me here for a reason… Could it be the reason I was born in the first place?” 

The light had flashed again, now rushing past the couple in a gust of wind. This time, leading the two towards another portrait that had been of what seemed to be two dragons - one of a silvery color and the other a darker flame - towering over a fairy. A beautiful fairy, which Natalya had immediately recognized as the woman from Sparx’s palace.

“Do I finally get to find out what the dragon flame and heart of ice really is?” Natalya had begun, looking up at the portrait as the light had grown stronger. It was as if it were responding, and so, she had taken a step forward, “Then show yourself. I’m not afraid anymore. I’ve come so far - because you are the answer I’ve waited for not now, but my entire life…”

Her entire life… This was true. From having an interest in fairies to reading stories about magic and imagining herself as a magical being… It all made sense to her now. She was a magical being. 

Regardless of being powerless - she was the daughter of a magical being and a fairy.

“Show yourself, please…” Natalya looked up at the light as if she had been attempting to reach for it. Alfred hadn’t held her back, but the second she had attempted to reach for it - it had flown right behind her as if it were getting her to follow. 

And she did follow. 

“Let me see who you are…” She had whispered lowly, approaching it slowly when noticing that the orb had slowed down from flying off. As she walked with Alfred, who remained silent while observing, the light had been bright enough to reveal artifacts that she had recognized from Sparx. Not just pieces of the palace, but items that did belong to her family were all there, “Don’t make me wait one moment more… Come to me…”

The light had hovered now what looked to be a lever. This lever, with beautifully decorated gold engravings on it, had been shining in front of both individuals. Natalya had looked over at Alfred, clearly unsure of if she should reach for it… But it was his hand that had guided hers to reach for it, before pulling it down.

The light had hovered over the lever and had burst into the room; completely filling the darker areas with complete light. This light had sparkled over the couple; allowing for them to see every artifact that had belonged to the royal family and Kingdom of Sparx. Not just about the family, but ancestors of those who had served as guardian fairies.

Yet, looking up into the air, they had been exposed to what looked like visualizations of scenes taking place.

It had been of another couple. These visualizations had a fairy chasing what seemed to be a young man, magic flying all around, followed by a wedding, a celebration at a Kingdom… They were _all_ scenes that had taken place in reality. 

And that was when they both heard it.

_Where the north wind meets the sea…_

_There’s a river, full of memory…_

“Mother…” Natalya’s eyes widened when realizing who the voice was. She had looked at Alfred, who looked dumbfounded, but just as shocked as her when she had said this aloud. It was Alyona - the light was Alyona. She was the one guiding her through the maze of the archive, allowing her to see the memories of their family that she hadn’t had the chance to see before.

_“Come, my darling, homeward bound… When all is lost, all is found.”_

The bright light taking form in front of the couple had caught them both out of surprise. 

A smile was drawn to her lips upon seeing the two. Not only was Alyona happy to see her youngest child again, but she also knew who the man was. 

The man that she had a feeling would be someone who’d be in her daughter’s life for a very long time.

“What… Are you doing here?” Natalya began as she approached the figure slowly. To Alfred, his face went pale because he didn’t even know who it was. “…Am I dreaming?” 

“ _No, Natasha,”_

The entire time the figure stood there, she kept the same smile on her face. At that point, Alfred had approached the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder to express his concern, “Nat, do you know _her_?”

Did she forget to tell Alfred about the figure? Natalya couldn’t help but to slap herself mentally on the inside before she looked at Alfred. There was no time for explanations. They had to get through this quickly, so all she had done was give Alfred a nod. 

“Yes… She’s my mother.” 

That expression that was full of concern immediately faded into a pale one. Wait, the woman who was standing there was all-powerful with such a goddess aura - was her mother!? He was embarrassed because not only was that woman probably one of the most ultimate, powerful rulers of the magical dimension, but he was also dating her daughter! 

It was then that the figure had motioned the two to come closer. Natalya was silent as she took her steps closer to the other, who then approached her and placed a hand on top of her head. 

“ _Natasha, you haven’t lost your powers.”_ She explained, which brought confusion to the girl. Hearing crazy statements like that needed some sort of context, so Natalya remained silent so she could be given an explanation, “ _What you see in this room proves that if you think your powers are gone, you’re wrong.”_

She didn’t understand it at all. 

‘Didn’t lose her powers?’

Then what exactly happened on earth, then? She was physically restrained by the witches while they ripped what power she had out. What did they have instead, then? A knock-off version of her powers? 

“My life on earth?” Natalya had questioned the other and tilted her head slightly, “What do you mean? On Earth, I was just a human. I didn’t even know magic existed. I don’t understand.” 

Her response was understandable. Natalya had gone through so much within the past couple of days, that her mind was in a mixture of stress and confusion. Which was why the woman looked down at the child. 

“ _You were taken in by a family on Earth by caring individuals, who love you so much that they were willing to allow you to go and find out about your true self,”_ Alyona first explained while motioning over to a painting of the home that her daughter had grown up in. Followed by that, she took a step forward to another painting that had been of the palace of Sparx, “ _You still are who you were before you arrived on Earth; a Princess. Just as you are a Princess, you are still the person you were before you came to the magical dimension; a girl from Earth. You are Natalya Arlovskaya, daughter of the Arlovskys on Earth. And you are also Natasha Braginskaya - daughter and royal heir to the dragon flame and heart of ice. Your past will forever belong to you and nothing can ever change that…_

_...Just like your power.”_

If her past couldn’t be taken away, what did that have to do with her powers? She was given the sacred duty before she was even born to be the one to protect the dragon flame and heart of ice. But now that the power’s been taken away from her, she didn’t know exactly who she was. 

Was her mother saying that she was still herself despite the events that had occurred? 

“ _No one can ever take away the dragon flame and heart of ice from its sole guardian,_ ” The woman turned around and approached the young girl once again. With a hand reached out, she placed it on her daughter’s shoulder and gave the same smile that was on her face earlier, “ _This happens to everyone. You have doubts. You were afraid and came to believe that something you love so dearly can be taken away from you. But the truth is, no one in all of these existing dimensions can ever steal your past, dreams, or your powers. The witches do not own your powers. You were determined to be the sole guardian, so they will forever be yours.”_

What her mother had been explaining to her was practically something that she’s been having her entire life. The odd fact about it was how she knew. She knew everything, which made her wonder if she was watching Natalya the entire time she was on earth.

She grew up with a personality that consisted of having many doubts. With not having that many great experiences growing up, it was understandable as to why she behaved that way and had these thoughts. With the stress that she was put under too, her mind had been twisting the real image and trying to convince her that her powers were gone for good. But if they were still inside her just as Alyona had been explaining… 

…Then there could still be a chance to save the magical dimension.

“ _You need to look deep down into your heart, Natasha. Release the power within you of being the Princess of the dragon flame and heart of ice,_ ” With her hand pulled back, she soon turned around and held out a hand to form a portal. 

Was she leaving already? So unexpectedly without any sort of context?…

Or, was her task done on why she summoned Natalya there in the first place?

“ _And when you do… You know that I will always be by yourself in aid.”_

A bright glow filled the room. Natalya had covered her eyes once again from the unexpected brightness, and by the time she had unshielded her eyes - the woman was gone. 

There was a multitude of questions filling the girl’s mind at that very moment. It was almost as if she were thrown information at her but wasn’t given the opportunity to process it all. What did she mean by looking deep down into her heart? Find the powers of the Princess and guardian of the dragon flame and heart of ice - what did that all mean? 

The entire time she stood there, she couldn’t help but to make eye contact with Alfred who was standing there, speechless over the fact of what he had not only witnessed but heard. It must’ve been a lot of information for him to process and take in too. 

“…Who I am…” Natalya crossed her arms for a moment and closed her eyes. She needed a moment to process all of this information to better understand it. What was inside her… Deep in her heart, what was she really? 

For the longest time, she believed she was simply a girl from Earth. A girl that had powers for some strange reason. While she was in the magical dimension, everyone she knew had different backgrounds. Whether they were training to become guardian fairies, were princesses or nobles… Every other fairy had a reason to be studying at Lenfia.

Her? She had no idea why. She was there to learn how to use and control her powers, but for what purpose at the time? Now that she knew what the biggest purpose of her having the dragon flame and heart of ice was, her perspective has completely changed. 

“…I am… a Princess…” This was where she found herself beginning to click things together. With her eyes closed, she lowered her arms to her side and began thinking more. 

A Princess from Sparx who was sent to earth to not only protect her life but the powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice.

“The guardian of the dragon flame and heart of ice… nothing can change my fate.”

When she opened her eyes, they had been glowing. 

That was it. 

_That_ was exactly what her mother had been telling her about thinking and looking deep into her heart. 

The glow that came from her eyes resulted in Alfred who had been first listening and watching her to shield his eyes from how bright the room was becoming unexpectedly.

She wasn’t finished, though.

_“And no one will take that from me.”_

A burst of magic came from the girl as the light began to envelop her. As the seconds passed, Alfred had his eyes widened in horror of what exactly was going on. Thus, resulting in him closing it. What he hadn’t been exposed to though had been the sight of the transformation sequence taking place in front of him.

Because by the time he had opened his eyes, he had been exposed to the girl who went from wearing armor and protective gear from his headmaster… 

...To a pair of wings behind her and the beautiful form of a sparkling outfit, her hair curled, make-up lightning the features of her face and magic radiating all around her.

Her eyes were still glowing as she said this while hands sparked with power. If she had been paying attention at that moment, she would’ve noticed Alfred’s absolutely shocked face.

By the end of the said sequence, Natalya had blinked a couple of times and formed her hands into fists. One thing that was different though was in her right hand, she had been holding onto a crystal. 

This crystal was one thing she didn’t expect at all. She looked down at it; taking note of its simple shape. Though with a small squeeze of her hand, she had used magic to see how it would react. 

It was then that the crystal had taken shape into a scepter. The scepter, being made of crystal glass and diamond, had the shape of a flame and a crystal on the top of it. This startled Natalya at first, but eventually, she found herself holding onto it with a firm grip. She had no idea what the scepter was, but she knew that it was also part of her discovering her true power. 

A smile for possibly the first time in days that she’s had begun to form. 

Her mother was right. Her power wasn’t gone at all. She felt the same way she was just ten minutes before she had encountered her mother and heard her speak. 

Nothing was different at all. Maybe Alfred’s expression was different due to how shocked he was, but that was something he could fix in a bit. 

For now though, they had to get out of there and get to Lenfia as quickly as they could.

“Natalya?” Alfred began after a moment, still in a shocked state, “…You alright?”

She was more than alright. She felt stupid for believing that the witches could take her down that easily, but now that she had been unlocked her true power, things would be different. 

Natalya gave a nod to the other and quickly ran up to him. What was expected though was only because she was in a good mood and felt like her normal self again. With the scepter in both of her hands securely, she didn’t hesitate to lean forward until her lips had been pressed against the others'.

It was unexpected, but the adrenaline at the moment had her react as such.

Alfred was completely speechless by the gesture that was made by the girl. But, he was glad that she did it because he needed it to realize that this wasn’t a dream at all. With his hands, he reached over to cup the girl’s cheeks; gently caressing them while returning the passionate kiss that they unexpectedly exchanged.

The said kiss lasted for only a few seconds before instinctively, they had pulled away from each other. When they did, that same smile was on the girl’s face that honestly blew Alfred away. It was such a rare sight to see her smiling that he was angry he didn’t have a camera to document it.

“You have no clue how happy I am,” Natalya began before she had wrapped her arms around the other’s neck. At that point, she once again had leaned in for a second kiss which was happily accepted by the other. 

It really wasn’t a dream. 

First of all, her powers were with her all along. She got to learn more about her family, and she had her boyfriend back after the chaos they had gone through with that crazy fiancée of his. 

Everything was working out in her favor. 

But now, the biggest task that had to be accomplished was to defeat the witches.

Only she would be the person to do that.

When they had parted from the kiss, this was when Natalya had grabbed onto Alfred’s hand and began leading him up the staircase. There couldn’t be any more time wasted. The sooner they were at Lenfia, the sooner they could defeat the witches and everything could go back to normal.

And they had to get there soon before the next battle began…

…Which unfortunately to them, had already begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It's been a while! I was a day late in posting this, as well as had to delay the release of this chapter because of IRL things. I am so sorry for the wait.
> 
> WITH that being said - would you believe it if I told you that there is only one more chapter left? (Two more chapters technically if we count the epilogue).
> 
> But don't fret, there is a reason this fic has "Part 1" in parenthesis... ;)
> 
> Please plan for a release of the final chapter on 07/14/2020! Trust me, it's going to be a good one and you don't want to miss it.
> 
> (also hint-hint if you spot the easter egg references. I freaking love those songs, which all credit goes rightfully to Disney).
> 
> See you soon! :D


	14. The Final Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything was working out in her favor. 
> 
> But now, the biggest task that had to be accomplished was to defeat the witches.
> 
> Only she would be the person to do that.
> 
> When they had parted from the kiss, this was when Natalya had grabbed onto Alfred’s hand and began leading him up the staircase. There couldn’t be any more time wasted. The sooner they were at Lenfia, the sooner they could defeat the witches and everything could go back to normal.
> 
> And they had to get there soon before the next battle began…
> 
> …Which unfortunately to them, had already begun.

Creatures part of the army of decay soared through the sky. Their screeches of terror filled the environment that surrounded the one last remaining school that stood in the city of Magix; this being, Lenfia College for Fairies. 

All magical beings in training had taken refuge at the campus. It was now a position that all heroes, witches, and fairies would have to work together to take on the battle being conducted by the three witches of the ancestral witches.

The barrier had been holding strong around the campus. However, for those inside the barrier, didn’t know how long it would be until the barrier managed to crack through.

No one knew when the barrier would break. Once it had broken, then a battle would begin for those inside. 

It was during this time that Headmistress Evanora and the students who had been trapped at the Tower of the Dead had managed to make their arrival to the campus. A portal had spawned in the middle of the campus, which had put most students at high alert. However, all it took was for the two heads of Lenfia and UHB to approach the portal to be greeted to the other head with students who had cloaks over their heads. 

What had been startling too as well, was to see through this portal, two familiar faces belonging to Florentyna and Gilbert making an appearance as well.

Since splitting from Natalya and Alfred, it was decided between Florentyna and Gilbert that they would go back to Lenfia with the witches. Through them, not only would they be able to get in with magic, but at least they wouldn’t have to deal with the barrier that was surrounding Lenfia and not allowing anyone in. 

Students who had been in the midst of preparing for battle stopped in their tracks to see the sight. Even Monika, Mei, and Tatyana, who had all been in their fairy forms had stopped their tasks to see the sight. 

Relief immediately formed on their faces upon the realization of who it was.

As the three were about to approach, Radella had taken a step further with Headmaster Elijah to approach Evanora, who seemed angered.

“Stand back, ladies.” Were the first words that had come from the older woman, which had everyone freeze in their tracks while she approached the other. 

Evanora had taken her steps towards Radella as well. Her cloak had already been lowered to reveal not only the tired appearance she had but the indeed scary angered expression that brought fear to any fairy. Though for Radella, she kept her head held high - completely unphased by it.

The two older women stared at each other before Radella had been the one to break the silence, “...How long has it been since you’ve stepped on Lenfia’s campus?”

“Just about when we were both third years in our studies,” Evanora had responded. Despite the exhausted and angered look on her face, she did have a smirk on her lips to indicate she was amused, “It was tradition our age for students to pull pranks on graduating fairies. I remember sneaking onto here to attempt pulling a prank on the graduating third-year fairies… But then one fairy, who at the time we didn’t know would become a dear friend, ratted us to the Headmistress at the time.”

A chuckle managed to escape Radella’s lips. The memory was indeed there; this being a time where before any of the current witches and fairies that existed at that time were unaware of old traditions. The pranks witches would pull on fairies - especially senior ones. 

The irony in that statement was the fact that it was Alyona who had been the one to tell on Radella and her fellow witches. And soon by the end, Evanora had been selected to serve as a guardian in the Company of Light for the dragon flame and heart of ice.

“Those were happier times,” Evanora finished her statement after examining the area. The stares from the student fairies and heroes unphased her, but she only continued onwards with her conversation with the other woman, “But now look where we are.”

There was a small frown that formed on Radella’s lips. While Evanora did have a point, there was one thing she never liked about her personality - and that was being very negative. This made sense - after all, Evanora was a witch, “Perhaps those happier times will be able to come back… Now that we know the heir of the dragon flame and heart of ice is alive.”

“Yes…” Evanora had leaned forward; her brows risen slightly in disbelief, “Too bad the dragon flame and heart of ice is in the hands that aren’t hers.”

Their conversation was kept to themselves as they spoke. Seeing that people had begun to stop staring, Florentyna had broken away from the pack of witches and Gilbert to approach her friends who seemed to all be relieved. She was naturally happy to see her friends after going through the chaos of walking through the Tower of the Dead. 

Which was why when she had approached them, she practically had pulled them all into a group hug, “It’s so good to see you guys again.” Were the first words that came from Florentyna. The feeling was indeed mutual, seeing that Mei, Tatyana, and Monika had returned the hug. 

However, something was off.

“I’m so happy to see that you’re okay, but,” Tatyana had first asked when parting away from the hug, “Where’s Natalya? Why isn’t she with you?” 

There was a moment where Florentyna had found herself letting out small, nervous chuckles. Seeing these nervous chuckles wasn’t alarming to the three girls, since it either meant something good or that she was nervous, “Well, you see…” Florentyna began with a small pout to her lips, “Apparently, this asshole,” She motioned to Gilbert, who seemed to be occupied catching up with his friends, “And the other asshole decided without telling me, to try and bring Natalya to safety.”

“What?!” Monika had glared right at Gilbert; not even surprised this behavior was coming from him. After all, this was her older brother, and men from UHB tended to be sneaky, “How? There are monsters pretty much surrounding the campus and Magix, there’s nowhere here safe. Everyone’s evacuated from the city - we’re the only ones left.”

“...That’s why I’m worried,” Florentyna explained and crossed her arms under her chest; glancing down at the dirt of the ground with discomfort brought to her chest, “I don’t feel good about it. I can’t reach any of them.”

Frowns had formed all on their faces. Mei had been the one to approach Florentyna and wrap an arm around the girl’s shoulders, looking at the other comfortingly, “Well… I guess all we should do now is just hope that they make it here…”

Outside the skirts of the campus, thrones of monsters had been carrying the three witches that had begun to make their travels towards the campus. The goal was to ultimately destroy it, but also find and locate the princess to eliminate her as well. If the Headmistress of Lenfia was to not comply with the orders from before of surrendering, then it was a case where the witches would have to take on the mission themselves.

A mission that they would gladly do in favor of finishing what their coven had begun. 

“Hey, ladies,” Gelinda, who had been sitting in a throne in the middle of her fellow sisters. As they were being brought to the campus; creatures from the army of decay had already gone ahead of them to pursue the first round of attacks at the school, “Remember the quiz in last month’s teen witch magazine about what you would do if you had a chance to take over the universe? I submitted a response to it.”

Aviana who had once been distracted with her own thoughts had leaned over in interest, “Oh? What’dya put?”

“I wrote, ‘you’ll find out soon enough,’ and sent it in.” Gelinda had begun laughing in response. 

The irony that had come from the said statement erupted in even more laughter from Aviana and Nebula. As clever as the response was, the statement was indeed true. Now that they had the invincible powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice, nothing would be able to stop them.

Not guardian fairies. Not the Magix’s authorities. And most certainly not the Princess of the Magical Dimension. 

Everyone was beneath their feet. People feared them to the point where no one would challenge them. Even when Florentyna, Natalya, Alfred, and Gilbert had broken into the Tower of the Dead - they didn’t dare to try and fight the witches. Instead, they cast a spell and an escape before any harm could be brought to them.

This was why the witches had all four of them as their prime targets once reaching Lenfia. Natalya especially being on the top of that list.

However, this didn’t neglect the fact that the witches were bored out of their minds from all the traveling. It was a distance to get to Lenfia, especially from their thrones, after all.

“I hate to be the one to break this one out,” Nebula began; slouching in her throne while glaring up at the sky, “But are we there yet?”

“You’re actually fucking kidding, Nebula,” Aviana had commented right back at the other with no hesitation, “You’re really going to start bitching now?”

“Aviana has a point,” As Gelinda had followed-up with this, she had looked over at Nebula who seemed to have not been paying attention to the other two witches, “It’s either you sit down in your throne or walk to Lenfia. Otherwise, shut up.”

It was indeed a moment that they had to focus on. Nebula didn’t agree to the response she was given, thus resulting in her to turn her head away. But the reality was that Gelinda was focused. She was focused and didn’t want any distractions from arriving at Lenfia.

This battle would determine their reign to be either successful or a failure.

The individuals who had been at Lenfia were prepared. Fairies and witches were already on the ground preparing their spells to defend the barrier that had been protecting the school, while heroes had been on the top of balconies and rooftops to see if they could spot the witches from afar. Since receiving the threat from Gelinda, Radella had made sure everyone was on high alert.

Despite this, her thoughts were elsewhere while standing in front of the barrier of the school.

_“You’re still thinking of Natalya, aren’t you?”_

Radella had turned her head over to the voice that had come behind her. Since Evanora had returned to Lenfia, it was as if old times between them were taking place. A witch and a fairy getting along - no one would believe that in this generation. But for them, it was common growing up for these magical beings to get along.

Alas, Evanora was right about that one statement.

“...Fairies don’t give up on each other,” She had said simply; her arms resting behind her back in thought. As the other woman listened, Evanora seemed to have an unamused expression on her face, but Radella continued, “I’ve always believed that Natalya is our only hope. I just… No one knows where she is.”

“Well then,” Evanora crossed her arms, “Any other ideas on how we can win this fight?”

“We put our full effort into it.” Radella said simply and looked down from where she had been standing, indeed noticing that the weather had begun to pick up in the surrounding area, “As we were destined to do. Guardian fairies are to take care of others by using their powers while you witches use your magic for the pleasure of bringing destruction. Even if Natalya isn’t here now, I sure as damn know she and her entire family would want us to defend our universe as best as we can. If we want any hope of survival… Those three witches must be defeated.”

And defeating the witches was the main thing they had to accomplish.

The conversation had come to its end when Radella had noticed something from afar. Glancing up, she noticed the creatures flying in the direction of Lenfia; her eyes widened before she turned to face her fellow colleague, “They’re here.”

It was just as she and the rest of the faculty had expected. Radella had turned to face away from the barrier, rushing with Evanora towards the middle of the campus to begin their shouting to bring alert to everyone, “They’re here! Everyone get into position and use everything you have!” Both Evanora and Radella had chanted as fairies, witches, and heroes already had begun to position themselves.

The witches who stood up in their thrones were amused to see all the rushing around on Lenfia’s campus. It seemed that their arrival had sparked a sense of panic, which was just what Gelinda liked to see. All it had taken was her to wave her hand into the air; her eyes glowing of magic before she motioned over to the school to guide the army, “...What are you all waiting for? Attack the school.”

Creatures that had been in the air had begun slamming themselves into the barrier. In order to make their attacks, the first step was to break through the barrier. 

The fairies and witches on the ground had all held their hands up towards the barrier; keeping their magic in full focus to support the barrier from breaking. The longer the barrier last, perhaps there would be a chance that it wouldn’t break-in time. It was as each creature from the army had slammed itself against the barrier, brought electrocution came, and had shocked them to the point of disintegration. 

“Oh that’s so unfair,” Nebula had stood up from her throne upon realizing what the witches and fairies inside the school had been doing. It was with one hand she had summoned her wand; lightning sparking at the end of it as her eyes glew with power. With this, she had pointed the wand at the barrier; lightning striking right from the sky against the barrier, “You forget that the dragon flame and heart of ice defies everything!”

As the witch chanted her spell, she was indeed right with this statement.

All it took was one wave of her wand for the lightning to burst through the barrier that had been supported by the multiple amounts of fairies and witches. 

The fairies within the school had already transformed into their fairy attire. Even Mei, Tatyana, and Monika had already been in the air using their magic to defend the barrier that had been protecting the school. When the barrier had come crashing down, it was enough to startle them all.

“No way!” Mei had begun, gasping at the sight of the lightning shattering the barrier with one hit, “That’s impossible!”

The barrier had shattered within seconds, now allowing for the creatures to have access to entering the gates of the campus.

It was a sickening sight that the witches had decided to sit back and watch the downfall. It was an enjoyable sight - especially since they couldn’t wait to see all of the student fairies, specialists, and witches of the magical dimension fall into exile with the school.

“Ladies!” Radella had been on the ground commanding the students on what to do. This had caught the attention of all the fairies and witches who were fighting, before they all noticed the woman motioning over to the monsters, “Don’t bother with the barrier! Save your magic to fight, because those monsters are going to get in here either way!”

The entire time the fairies had been strategically trying to put together their official battle plan within the seconds they had, the witches had still been sitting in their thrones with amusement brought to their expressions.

The students were officially giving into their battle? Things were about to get very interesting. 

On the ground, heroes had been using their weapons to send attacks to creatures that were crawling on the ground. Witches had been up in the air with wands and their own magic to assist the fairies with creatures that were flying in from the sky.

Even the administrators were fighting. Radella had been using her own spells in convergence to Evanora’s. Though as they were fighting, it seemed that the other had something to say.

“I don’t want to hear it now, Evanora,” Radella had spoken out before holding her hands up to form a shield at an attack that was being sent at her. Followed by this, she sent her own attack, destroying the monster, “I know what you’re going to say,” 

“What?” Evanora couldn’t help but respond with a chuckle to her tone. In her hand, she had been holding onto her wand and waving it into the air before sending magic to multiple creatures; watching them explode from impact.

Once Radella had successfully eliminated some of the larger monsters, she turned to the other woman and took in a deep breath, “About the damn barrier. We need to stop focusing on Natalya and just defend ourselves as best as we can.”

A grin was still on Evanora’s expression the entire time she sent off her spells to the creatures. This wasn’t mainly at the fact of the barrier being destroyed, but the presence of Natalya being nonexistent. It was important that the Princess stay safe, but it was a good thought to know that the Princess was alive. Since Natalya had stepped onto Lenfia’s campus, she knew that Radella was having concerning thoughts about the girl. 

Her magic was strictly for lighter arts. Any sort of dark magic never worked in her favor. The dragon flame and heart of ice signified the goodness of the magical dimension and could never be used for dark arts. It could defeat any sort of evil though, so long as the individual who had it in its possession had a good heart. 

Radella jumped into the air as she flew; holding her hands up into the air so an orb of magic began to build up. When it was in a very large orb, she threw it down towards the direction of monsters that seemed to be going after her students. 

The more minutes passed, the more creatures began to march their way through the school. All of the administrators and students had been fighting with every ounce of power that they had. What amused the witches though was when some of them began to give in and collapse due to how much power they were using.

Gelinda stood up from her throne and watched this with a large smile on her face. It was going absolutely in her favor. Soon, the school would fall, the students would fall, the princess would fall, and then there would be no one to stop them.

There was one question that remained though…

From examining the ground, she didn’t seem to be there at all. At that point when seeing that Florentyna and Gilbert were there, Gelinda thought that she would be back there at that point to help defend the school. 

“Sisters… Do you notice something a bit _off_ _?”_ Gelinda began; grinding her teeth at just the anxious thought of it.

The two witches who had been sitting on their thrones stood up upon hearing this. There was indeed something wrong about this whole fight. While they were successful in currently winning the battle, there was something missing from the entire thing.

“The Princess...” Nebula was the first to speak and turned to face Gelinda in confusion, “She isn’t there.”

“By now, I thought that the princess would’ve returned to Lenfia to fight,” Aviana had followed-up to the other witch’s statement in agreement. 

That was what they all thought, but she wasn’t there. To Gelinda, she honestly didn’t care at that point. What was important was that they had her powers and nothing would stop them. She settled down in her throne yet again and crossed her arms.

“Don’t worry, remember…” Gelinda began as she clutched her hands into a fist, “ _We’re_ the ones with the dragon flame and heart of ice. No one would be able to defeat us—-“

_“That’s not the dragon flame and heart of ice. This is!”_

A bright light had begun to form above the witches, which had caught Gelinda off guard from their statement. Glancing up, the three witches were greeted to the sight of powerful energy of magic lingering over them with the light being so bright to the point where they were blinded by it briefly. It was when their vision had come into focus that the witches were greeted to something they hadn’t been expecting.

The bright light had dimmed down to reveal the blonde hair, violet-blue orbs, and pale skin that belonged to one individual. Around her body, the figure that flew above them had a sparkling blue top, skirt, boots and cuffed sleeves, a beautiful broach on her chest, and a tiara on her hair while a pair of wings had been on her back.

Around her, two dragons had been around her. One radiating in a flame while the other radiated in cold ice.

All it had taken was for the figure to wave one hand toward the school, and within seconds, a powerful blast of magic had filled the area to wipe out the creatures that had gotten inside the school. Those who had been fighting had stopped to be greeted to the sight of what the witches were seeing; cheers now being evoked from the campus.

“Natalya!” Tatyana couldn’t help but cry out from her position in relief; lowering herself down to the ground as she gasped and clutched onto her chest seeing the figure in the air.

“She’s okay!” Mei had followed-up in agreement with her friend, clearly just as relieved seeing that the other was okay.

Hearing the cheers and support that came from the campus indeed did bring strength to Natalya. She wasn’t done with the witches though. It was just as she said this, her hands had been held in the air where a bright flame had formed. Throwing it at the direction of the three witches in their thrones, the witches had gone flying off into the school’s campus as their thrones were destroyed, “ _Dragon fury!”_

One by one, the witches flew off. Aviana had landed against one of the walls of the school, Nebula had landed directly in the corpses of dead creatures, while Gelinda had taken a powerful hit to the ground. 

She wasn’t done just yet.

Natalya had flown in the direction of the school and held her hands out once again to form icicles around the gates. Any time a monster approached it, they would be stabbed and immediately destroyed on the spot so the individuals inside the school could fight off the creatures that managed to get in. 

She had stood there flying in the air and glanced down, feeling a relieving smile come to her face when seeing not only Radella who was practically in tears upon seeing the girl, but her friends screaming just how relieved they were to see her again.

“Sorry for showing up so late…” Natalya began as she called down to them before flying towards the monsters that were continuing to be summoned from behind the gates. She had to take care of that first so there wouldn’t be any more attacks on the school. With her hands held out, magic soon came from her in the form of fairy dust. This dust had been enough to stop all of the summonings of the creatures, which meant that once all of the current creatures were destroyed, it would be the end. And so, she continued, “I kind of had to deal with something--” 

“ _WHAT!?_ ” 

Immediately, the fairy was interrupted by a powerful blast of magic. directly from the ground. Gelinda had been in the air now after taking her hit; blood dripping down her forehead as she glared at the direction of where Natalya stood. Her eyes were full of anger and frustration upon seeing the Princess in the air with her magic again, “How the hell did she get her powers back!?” 

Even if she had her powers, that didn’t stop Gelinda from immediately flying into the air and going after the girl. Natalya’s eyes widened when she saw this, so when the witch had sent over an attack, all she had to do was hold her hands out to form a shield around her so she would be protected.

“You think you can invade first my family, then my school, and now my friends?” Were the first words that came from Natalya when seeing the attack. She was unphased; the magic immediately disappeared once hitting her shield, “I don’t think so. But I do have news - you don’t have the dragon flame and heart of ice. _I do._ ”

Her magic isn't working. It could be because she was angry, or it could be the fact that Natalya was indeed telling the truth. Gelinda was frustrated seeing that there was no way to hit the fairy, and thus, resulting in her to wipe away the blood from her forehead as she glared at Aviana and Nebula who had been struggling to get up from the hit, “Sisters, give me your portion of the dragon flame and heart of ice! I’m going to end this fairy once and for all!”

Saying these words out loud wasn’t the smartest thing to do at all. It had been loud enough for not only the two witches to indeed fly at Gelinda’s direction to begin the quick enchantment of transferring the power, but it was enough for Florentyna, Mei, Monika and Tatyana to go flying at the direction of the witches in their own fairy forms.

“Sorry guys,” Florentyna began with a grin and brushed her hair behind her shoulders, “But you aren’t getting Natalya. She’s ours.”

“You’ll have to deal with us first,” Monika began before holding her hands up into the air. It was then that bolts of electricity filled her hands and soon she sent it in the direction of the witches. They dodged it of course, which meant that they wouldn’t hesitate to put up a fight against the fairies.

“So be it,” Nebula began and held her hands out while storm clouds began to form over the fairies after the transfer was complete to Gelinda. Lightning and thunder could be heard from the said clouds that she had formed… 

…However, the fairies were just as prepared.

“ _Ray of sunlight!”_ Florentyna had flown up into the air and held her hands out as what looked like a miniature sun began to form. As she did so, she brought it towards the direction of the clouds that immediately began to fade away. If there was one thing more powerful than dark clouds, it was sunlight.

Tatyana was next with bringing her hands up to her lips and blowing against them. Seeds soon made their way to the ground and immediately resulted in large vines to grow out from the ground, trapping the two witches who were furious at the fairies stopping them. 

Mei then proceeded with holding her hands out and forming large jukeboxes around them, which blasted loud music that would hopefully get them in enough of a dazed state. 

Seeing such support from her friends had Natalya’s heart drop. The energy and powerful magic that had radiated from that moment - she could feel that love from her friends to fight. 

And that love was her motivation to finish it all with the witches. 

“I am going to make sure you pay, Gelinda.” Were the first words that had broken from Natalya. Her voice was shaky; but as she spoke, the anger was still present, “Your ancestors took my family. Your ancestors are the reason I never got to find out who I really am. Now, I’m going to make sure you pay the full price and never let you hurt my family now. Aka, those who stand beside me.”

Her family being referenced to her friends who flew just at her side. Her friends had looked at her in shock when she had said this, but it was the truth. To emphasize this, magic had once again formed in her hands and soon, had blasted right at Gelinda’s direction to send the witch flying off a good distance away.

Natalya wasn’t done with her. She went directly after her, leaving Gelinda to her own thoughts of panic when the fairy had gone after her.

If she was understanding this properly, she didn’t have the dragon flame and heart of ice at all. What she, Nebula and Aviana took from her wasn’t the dragon flame and heart of ice… Which meant what powers they had - it was a decoy. 

The dragon flame and heart of ice did exactly what it was supposed to do with its guardian. It protected Natalya when she was in a moment where she couldn’t defend herself. While she was completely unaware and thought she was powerless, the truth was that the power protected her by tricking the witches into believing that they stole her power so they would leave her alone. 

Gelinda was angered. She fell for a stupid trick by the fairy’s powers and she couldn’t even believe that she didn’t even realize it!

With how fast that the attack had launched at Gelinda, it had been enough to reach a lake outside the campus of Lenfia, now leaving her and Natalya alone together.

The attacks didn’t stop from Natalya. As Gelinda had flown back, now managing to have control of her flying, she had dodged the attacks sent by the fairy in her direction.

The battle between Gelinda and Natalya was only beginning at the lake. Back at Lenfia’s campus, the rise of the army of decay only continued to increase. It was now a position where Mei, Monika, Tatyana, and Florentyna were facing Aviana and Nebula.

At the bottom of the campus though, another hero had managed to join on in with the fight with the ground creatures.

Alfred had swung his sword upon joining the battle; taking down any creature that managed to get into his way while looking for his team. There was a moment where he noticed a larger creature trying to go after his own friends, thus resulting in him to make his entrance by jumping into the air and slicing down on the creature’s neck to cut it off. Its head had dropped to the ground completely, resulting in it disappearing into the air.

“Well, I’ll be damned!” Mathias had spoken out upon recognizing the familiar blonde hair and glasses that belonged to their team leader, “The bastard is actually alive!”

“You got us worried there, Alfred,” Gilbert had followed up, approaching the other to pat his shoulder, “What the hell happened?”

It was a long story to catch his friends up on. Instead, Alfred had smirked at his friends and kept his sword and shield in place upon noticing more creatures beginning to launch their attacks on them, “You aren’t going to believe it,” He said simply, “I’ll tell ya later. Right now, let’s just say Natalya pretty much saved my life.”

“Figuratively or literally?” Gilbert had followed-up, chuckling as he said this.

“Both!” Alfred responded; swinging his sword seeing a creature approach him to take it down, “Saved my life mentally and physically, dude! When this is all over, I’m going to make sure she’s treated like the damn Princess she deserves to be.” 

“With the amount of power that one fairy has?” Mathias laughed and had held his sword up; dodging attacks from the creatures that had been launching at him, “You better treat her right!”

Better treat her right… That was something that Alfred had buried into his mind after seeing what had happened in that museum earlier with her.

The fight between Gelinda and Natalya at the lake had only just begun. The fairy and witch had been circling around each other; flames radiating from Natalya in anger as Gelinda’s eyes glew with bright power. While Natalya was focused on the witch, it didn’t stop Gelinda with her taunts.

“I’ll finish what the coven started seventeen years ago,” Gelinda had begun, which had Natalya completely unphased as lightning struck in the sky, “They destroyed your family and your precious planet, so I’ll go down in this dimension as the witch that took down the last Braginsky family member!”

As Gelinda had said this, she had launched another attack at Natalya. With her hands, she clutched them into fists as ice began to form around them. She then sent the which had been in the shape of spikes at Natalya’s direction. 

Similarly to the stunt she pulled before, all it took was one wave of her hand for Natalya to stop the attack with another barrier.

She soon began flying right at the witch’s direction. Her eyes had been glowing of power that consisted mostly of anger at the fact that Gelinda believed that she, Aviana, and Nebula actually would be successful in taking over the magical dimension.

The reality was that with Natalya standing, no one would ever bring harm to this dimension. 

Today was the day that she planned on making sure that something like this would never happen again. The witches nor any force of evil would be able to bring harm so long as she was there. 

The power that radiated over the lake signified the pure hatred they had for each other. There would be only one person leaving that battle, and the one who did would determine who would be the one succeeding in taking over the magical dimension.

Natalya held both of her hands in the air while flames formed in the palm of her hand. With a swift motion, she sent the flames right at Gelinda's direction who had blocked it by using ice to shield herself from the attack. The fairy wasn’t phased at all by this action, but she did become a bit startled upon seeing the attack that was being sent in her direction.

“If I have to destroy you first to get to taking over your dimension, so be it!” Gelinda had shouted and immediately sent a burst of magic at the other’s direction. Natalya’s eyes widened and soon she began to fly away in hopes to avoid it, because whatever magic that was, it was dark and looked painful if it were to hit her. 

An idea soon popped into her head. To intercept the attack, she held her hands out and opened a portal that would bring her right back to Gelinda; resulting in her attack to fly right into the ground.

“Sorry Gelinda,” Natalya began as she appeared in front of the witch with her arms crossed. The witch’s eyes widened in horror seeing that she dodged her attack. No one has ever dodged it before! “But you’ll never have this dimension so long as I’m alive and standing,” 

The more seconds passed, the more the witch was becoming angrier and angrier. Now she was using all that she had at that point. She screamed loudly and held her arms up, resulting in icicles in the shape of sharp knives to be shooting right at the fairy’s direction. But Natalya was prepared since all she had done was form an ice shield of her own; resulting in the attack being hit by her shield and shattering from the impact. The fairy closed her eyes while the magic she had used continued to sparkle and fly around her. 

This moment against Gelinda was probably the first time she’s ever felt this powerful. She felt more confident using her magic, especially after the huge talk with her mother back at Magix’s museum. 

The fight between the fairy and witch was just as bad as the one going on between the two other witches and four fairies. Aviana and Nebula at one point had decided to use the kind of magic the fairies always used - convergence.

The combination of powers enough to wipe out an entire team of creatures or enemies if deemed possible. For the witches, the two had held hands with one another to prepare an attack for the outnumbered fairies that surrounded them.

“Nebula, converge!” Aviana had shouted as she held one hand up into the air.

Followed by this, Nebula had begun to shape what seemed to be a tornado, while Aviana sent over bolts of electricity to trap the fairies. 

Mei, Tatyana, Florentyna, and Monika’s eyes widened in horror upon witnessing the sight of this. If it were to get near the school, then that would be a huge problem on their end. The tornado would be able to wipe out the school entirely, which couldn’t happen. The attack was meant for them, which meant they just had to stay away from the school. That didn’t stop them from defending themselves though.

Monika had held out her hands and formed a barrier around the group in order to protect the four of them, “ _Web barrier!_ ” She had shouted out loud as what looked like a sphere with wires of electricity surrounded the group. When the tornado had come close to them, the rest of the group had held their hands and sent a burst of magic towards its direction, thus dissolving it. 

The fairies weren’t finished though.

“ _Sunburst!_ ” Florentyna had already out her scepter away back into its original form, which was a ring on her finger, and had been using her hand magic now. 

An orb of bright magic went flying towards the direction of the witches who were still astonished that they were able to break the spell of the tornado. When this orb hit them, they went flying to the ground, which meant it was Tatyana’s turn.

“ _Ninja daisies!_ ” Tatyana held one hand out towards the ground as vines began to grow from them. There, the vines had wrapped around the witches, trapping them into place so Mei could be the one to make the final move.

With headphones formed around her ears, Mei had snapped her fingers so headphones had formed around the other fairies heads as well just for their protection. What she was about to do would not only affect the witches but anyone near to them that had sensitive hearing. 

_“_ Everyone cover their ears!” Mei had shouted before holding her hands out at the two witches, “ _Disco rage!”_

A loud, painful sound of screeching filled around the witches to the point that the magic had been enough for blood to erupt in their ears. The spell that had been cast included blasting a loud tune that had loud bases, the sounds of guitars stringing, and drums repetitively hitting against the base. Nebula and Aviana had been screaming at this point because just as Mei predicted, it was very painful to anyone’s ears. 

The battle against Aviana and Nebula seemed to be very successful for the four fairies. The one attack used was enough to get Aviana and Nebula down to the ground, thus resulting in part of the army of decay to disappear. 

Those who were in the middle of fighting on the campus had been greeted to the sight of the monsters’ disappearing. Monika and Florentyna had flown quickly down to the witches now that they were down; this being their chance to hold their hands out together as a restraint formed around their bodies to keep them secure. 

Radella noticed the sight of the witches on the ground being restrained by the said fairies. With being a guardian fairy herself, she had to make sure that they were fully down for good. It was after rushing over, the four fairies had looked up to their headmistress to see her hold a hand over Nebula and Aviana’s unconscious bodies to begin an enchantment.

“ _Powerous revokerous!_ ”

It was the same spell used when they were grounded for breaking into. Tower of the Dead. Orbs of power had flown directly out of the witches, resulting in Radella had grasped onto them which she had suspended for the time being. There were two witches down, but one left to go. The main source who had been leading the army of decay in the first place. 

* * *

_“You’re going to wish you were dead along the rest of your family on Sparx!”_

Gelinda’s face had been burning red in anger. Snow had begun to build up in the sky to signify her anger; this having Natalya notice the change in the environment. While it was colder, especially with being over a lake, she was unphased until she noticed the witch send what looked like magic go right in her direction, hitting her straight in the chest.

The orb immediately began to wrap around the fairy into a trap. Natalya was startled, resulting in her to struggle in panic from the restraint to try and get out. With how tight it was, she noticed her skin slowly beginning to freeze from the touch - as if it were to be hit with something, her skin could shatter like glass. 

It was exactly what Gelinda wanted. To destroy Natalya so there would never be an heir to the dragon flame and heart of ice ever again.

Her skin continued to glow more and more blue the longer she was in the restraint, which was what Gelinda wanted. With one swift motion of her hand, she had motioned for the ice orb to bring the fairy down to the ground so she could shatter along with it.

However, the witch had forgotten that she wasn’t just dealing with the keeper of the dragon flame and heart of ice - but a fairy that did very well in her school.

With her eyes closed, Natalya had whispered a transportation spell to get her out of the trap. Warmth had immediately filled around her body to bring some feeling back to her skin, allowing her to escape the trap. While Gelinda had been greeted to the sight of the ice trap shattering to the ground, Natalya had escaped and flew up behind her in silence. The witch began laughing maniacally at the shatter, thinking she had finally succeeded.

Unfortunately for her, that wasn’t the case.

“Try again, smartass,” Natalya began as she had been right behind the witch in the air. A smirk had formed along the fairy’s lips, which caught Gelinda by surprise. This was her opportunity for an attack. 

A blue flame formed around Natalya’s hands while she pointed in the direction of the witch. In seconds, she had sent a powerful amount of magic right at Gelinda, which had been enough to send the witch right into the water of the lake since she wasn’t ready to defend herself from the unexpected attack.

But when on the ground, it didn’t take long for Gelinda to get up and fly right in the direction of the fairy. Blood had been dripping down her face, while for Natalya, she looked completely uninjured from the attacks. The witch was angry to the point that now she had been unleashing all magic that she had built up in her. She had held her hands out while what looked like a giant hand began to grow from the water of the lake and reached for Natalya. It grabbed onto the fairy before she had the chance to fly off, holding onto her tightly before bringing her right into the water.

Being pulled into the water had Natalya’s eyes widen, but her instincts fully kicked in as she took in a breath so the water wouldn’t take her that easily. 

Gelinda made sure that the water of the lake had completely enveloped the girl before holding her arms out and forming what looked like a thick sheet of ice on the ground. Her intentions were that if Natalya was trapped in the water with a layer of thick ice on the top, that would be enough to eliminate the girl for good by getting her to drown.

“This is going to be your memorial rink, Natalya,” Gelinda had spat out; laughter erupting upon seeing that nothing was happening, “We’ll hold an annual event after we take over to celebrate the day the Princess drowned to death--”

Light began to glow from the water which caught the witch’s attention upon seeing this. She gritted her teeth and shouted at the top of her lungs, now realizing that even with her trap in place to get Natalya, it didn’t work.

“ _NO!”_

The sheet of ice that had kept Natalya trapped underwater immediately shattered. She had held her breath long enough to chant a spell in the water to build up her magic, thus allowing for her to slowly rise from the water. She was dripping wet, but not injured at all as she panted heavily to catch her breath.

Her eyes were completely glowing at this point, flames in the colors orange and silver were circling around her, and her hands had been glowing with power. 

It would take a _lot_ more to eliminate her that easily. 

When she had freed herself from the trap, Natalya glared right at Gelinda whose face was burning red from the amount of sheer anger she had for the girl. Her expression was stern, but she stayed silent because she wanted to see what the witch had to say.

“Go ahead and flap those fairy wings of yours while you wear that tiara on your head!” The witch spat at the girl who was completely unphased by the insult. Around her, dark magic began to form that grew bigger within seconds. With her hands pointed out to the fairy, she shouted with the top of her lungs; “I’m going to summon all my power from the dragon flame and heart of ice to make sure you don’t get up ever again!”

The snow and freezing temperatures immediately began to pick up in the area. It was at this point that Natalya couldn’t see anything, thus resulting in her shielding her eyes from the wind that thrashed against her face. Though when opening her eyes, she had managed to spot Gelinda with powerful magic beginning to surround her. 

_“Power of darkness! Trap and destroy the Princess once and for all!_ ”

The darkness that was once around the witch immediately surrounded the said fairy in a launching attack. With how bad her visibility was from the snow, it was hard for Natalya to dodge the attack this time. The trap this time was similar to the one back on Earth; wrapping around her and making sure she was secure enough to the point where it would be hard for her to escape.

Even if she began to move around, the trap would tighten.

This was exactly what Gelinda had wanted. A position where Natalya wouldn’t be able to escape at all. She had flown directly to the fairy; a crazed look on her expression as she held her hands once more over the girl, “ _FREEZE HER!_ ”

Ice immediately began to form around Natalya’s body. It was quick - not enough for the fairy to stop it or even cast magic to get out of it or dodge it. The ice grew and grew to the point where she was in full-blown panic. She didn’t know what to do. Calling out for help, no one would hear her. 

It was too late.

The ice had formed all around her body. Her legs, arms, body, and even head were frozen that she couldn’t move. It was as if Gelinda had formed a block of ice to make sure that she was frozen and couldn’t move. She could easily break out of it with the dragon flame, but now that there was that presence of darkness that was keeping her restrained underneath that ice - what could she do? 

Natalya’s body was still while being completely frozen in the ice. She was alive, where the only thing her body could sense was hearing Gelinda’s laughter outside of the trap.

“And the winner is…” Gelinda held her hands into the air in a victorious manner, “...Me! Was there ever any doubt? Enjoy the rest of your frozen frigid life.” 

Tears began to well up in Natalya’s eyes. Being stuck in this position, she had no idea what to do. Everything was painful. The dark magic, seeing Gelinda laughing at her, the sight of the destruction from Lenfia afar… 

...Everything was being taken from her. She had lost her family, she was losing this battle to Gelinda… What was she supposed to do? 

“ _You must fight.”_

Her eyes had widened hearing the sudden voice in her head. Even while she couldn’t move, the tears in her eyes continued to build up out of fear. 

_“Hope always will be found. And you are the one who brings hope to this dimension.”_

Her eyes were closed now where in her head, all she could see was darkness. It was as if she had been transported to a different reality in her mind; where there was nothing but just herself. Natalya was kneeling on the ground as tears streamed down her cheeks from the doubt she had been experiencing at the moment. 

Could there really be hope? Now that she couldn’t figure out how to fight?

“ _You are the guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice,”_

In front of her, a bright orb began to lower itself down in front of her. Natalya stared at the orb for a moment in silence. Was this her mother reaching out to her? She told her many times before that if she was ever in need of help, she would be by her side to guide her. Perhaps this was a moment where she was doing just that.

Slowly, Natayla reached for it and grasped onto it. All it had been an orb of light. Nothing more. 

But to her, it was her key to beating Gelinda and winning for all.

The orb was brought to her chest where she had held onto it closely. The tears continued to stream down her cheeks while she slowly began to catch her breath from being scared. There was no need for her to be scared anymore. These doubts that she had about herself for so long - she couldn’t give into them. If she were to, then she would prove herself as weak.

And weak was nowhere what she wanted to be. 

_“I’ll always be there to help you, my dear Natasha.”_

The little piece of magic her mother had sent her to help her… That was what her mother was there for. She told her daughter that she would always be there to help her. As the old possessor of the dragon flame and heart of ice, Alyona would make sure that it would stay protected within her daughter’s heart as she was the chosen one. 

The magic from the orb soon gleamed in her chest before beginning to go inside her. 

Outside of her mind, the scene was still the same. Gelinda had believed that Natalya was trapped once and for all, though when noticing a light beginning to form from inside the ice, her eyes had widened in horror. 

“...What?” Gelinda had questioned while backing away from the trap that she set for the Princess, “What’s going on?”

The entire figure of the ice immediately filled with light. The light had been so bright to the point where Gelinda had shielded her eyes from it; the sight of it being blind enough that she couldn’t even see the ice beginning to melt. The more the ice melted, it was soon that the fairy that was once trapped inside was slowly beginning to be freed. 

Despite being freed from the trap, the light hadn’t come to an end.

Gelinda lowered her arms now; the horror present on her face as she was greeted to the sight of Natalya in mid-air with her eyes closed. The light was surrounding her; radiating the powerful energy that came from the girl before she realized what was going on. This wasn’t just Natalya escaping her trap - it was much more than it seemed.

At the school, things were beginning to settle down. Since the group of four fairies had managed to trap Aviana and Nebula, the monsters had begun to die down. There were still plenty of monsters present, but not as big as the ones from before. Could it be because Gelinda had been injured? 

No one knew. 

The main focus was the fact that two out of the three witches were down and restrained from their powers. Though while authorities had been handling the witches, a bright light from afar had managed to capture not only Gelinda’s attention at the scene but everyone at Lenfia’s campus.

The light had been bright to the point that it could be similar to the sun. From the distance of the lake near the campus, it was as if it were beginning to rise into the air. The light illuminated the campus, allowing for now everyone who was standing there to have their attentions’ directly at it. 

“…What…” Monika began as she held out her hand; a device forming in her hands to figure out what exactly the source of the bright light was, “…Is that?” 

The light was probably one of the most gorgeous things to ever happen in the magical dimension. The power that had radiated to the campus brought energy to every magical creature that stood there. Fairies and witches - even heroes felt alive when feeling the energy that was brought. 

No one knew what it was, except for one fairy.

Tatyana slowly flew into the air now as the wind began to pick up in the air. Her eyes were closed as she held her hands out to her side. Magic slowly began to glow in her direction. Nature was communicating with her… It was a message of what exactly the source was. 

There was a powerful figure nearby. A figure that would be able to protect and save them all from what damage the witches had been attempting to bring to Lenfia.

A smile formed on Tatyana’s face as she lowered herself down to her friends as if they were expecting to hear something from her. She had an answer, which had her approach them while tears began to fill up in her eyes. These tears shocked the girls, but it was to show the relief that she had from receiving nature’s message.

“Don’t you guys feel it?” Tatyana answered the other before reaching over to place a hand on top of the device that Monika had summoned; indicating that there was no need to rely on technology to figure out the source of the bright light, “It’s the Princess. It’s Natasha…

 _...she’s awoken._ ”

What had once trapped the Princess soon vanished and completely nonexistent; leaving the girl all by herself in front of the witch that flew in front of her.

The light had surrounded her body. Within seconds, the sparkling blue outfit that went with her fairy form had completely disappeared and had been replaced with what seemed to be a beautiful gown. The gown had covered down to her feet with beautiful lace ruffled at the seams of it. Around her bust, a gold chain was pressed against it while around her shoulders lace had been keeping the dress in place. Behind her, there had been a giant bow made out of silk tied up. 

On her wrists, she had been wearing bracelets made out of pearls while the earrings she wore sparkled with diamonds. Around her neck, the same locket she had worn since she was an infant was present. 

Her hair had grown twice in length while it had been curled at its ends; pearls and white ribbon decorated along with it. On the top of her head, her hair had been pulled on each side that had been secured with diamonds, on the top of her head she wore a tiara that had been given to her at birth.

No words came from Natalya as she remained in the air. Instead, as the transformation sequence had come to an end, she had been looking down into her hands where the same crystal from before in the museum had glistened. It radiated powerful energy, that all she had done was stare at it while her tears began to stop.

That was when she realized it. When she was in a time of need, her mother was there to aid her. 

Aid her in a moment where it had her awaken in her true form as a Princess.

It was as if she had been regaining memories of her life as a Princess. The memories flashed in her mind as she stared down at the crystal. While her memories were limited, she could see moments of her either laying in a cradle, being held by her mother, seeing her siblings on Sparx wanting to be with her… And then came the day where she was taken and sent away for her own safety.

It was all sad memories. A sad past that at the time she never would have understood. Years later with being grown up, it was as if her powers were wanting to know the tragic past that her family had gone through for her to survive. 

It was a sign that she could not lose to the witches. Never to any source of darkness, including Gelinda herself, who stood there, astonished seeing the completely new form that had come from Natalya.

“I know now…” Were the first words that came from Natalya after a moment. She looked up at Gelinda; her eyes full of tears as her grip on the crystal had tightened, “...that I cannot let you win.”

With a wave of her hand, a white orb formed in between it before the scepter from the museum had formed in her hands. 

_“You will never have this dimension so long as I am alive.”_

Out of instinct, she had held the scepter into the air like a burst of magic filled the environment. The magic had been so powerful, that it was sent all throughout the magical dimension. Even at Lenfia, the magic had reached it which startled the hundreds of students and administrators there that were once fighting.

What they were amazed by was the sight of the school all of a sudden beginning to rebuild itself. Due to all of the battles that had been taking place on the campus, all of the damage… It was disappearing. The large chunks of the school that had fallen from the battle had gone from the ground to once again, being a part of the school.

In addition, the army of decay had vanished. All it had taken was one wipe of her power to restore everything. The beauty of the school, destroying all of the monsters' part of the army - it was the power of the Princess.

She was casting a restoration spell. A restoration spell that not only would heal the damage that Magix and the magical dimension had to experience but one that would revoke the witches of their power of what they believed they possessed of the dragon flame and heart of ice. 

When finishing to cast the restoration spell, she slowly lowered the rod from the air and shot an immediate glare to Gelinda who had been absolutely amazed. What she had been witnessing had been not just Natalya’s powers… But the powers of the Princess and the Queen combined. 

“Such immense power--” Gelinda had gasped; not even paying attention to the fact that she had broken out of the trap and managed to restore everything, “--Princess Natasha…”

This was where Natalya had lowered the scepter and held her hands up into the air. Magic began to form around the girl before she had pointed it in the direction of the witch. Her eyes were narrowed and a serious expression was drawn to her face. Gelinda would never bring harm to the magical dimension ever again. Nor will her ancestors, her sisters… 

...No one would ever touch it again. 

“ _You’re done._ ” 

The magic that the Princess had formed went flying at the witch’s direction. There was no possible way to dodge the attack that was made. The one attack made by her though was enough to completely wipe Gelinda off her feet and directly to the ground. The impact of hitting the ground was enough to get the witch to fall completely unconscious.

All beings had their limits. Just as Gelinda knew Natalya had her limits, she knew the same thing for the other as well. No matter how much power a person had, everyone was still human in some aspects…. And Natalya understood that completely. 

Everyone at Lenfia was absolutely speechless. Even the group of four fairies that were the closest to Natalya, they were astonished to know that the magic that was coming from a far enough distance was her. 

“The entire army is gone…” Florentyna couldn’t help but comment upon seeing the sight of the school. The weather that was once raining and disgusting had turned into a beautiful evening. The sky had been twinkling with stars, the school was put back all together - it was as if nothing had happened.

“That can only mean one thing,” Monika looked up at the sky; admiring the beauty that glistened from it, “Natalya must’ve whooped Gelinda’s ass.”

What everyone at the school though wasn’t expecting to see was that a few seconds after the bright magic began to die down, was the light from the bright source itself to get close to the campus. No one could tell what it was, until seconds after where a portal had opened midair.

A portal had soon opened to reveal not only the beautiful Princess of the magical dimension but in her arms, she had been carrying the leader of the witches. 

Gelinda had been completely unconscious at that point. She wasn’t dead, though with how beaten up she had looked, it looked like she almost was. Natalya wasn’t a murderer though. The witch should’ve backed down when she was weak, yet she persisted and wanted to take down the Princess with every ounce of power she had.

The damages to herself were only the consequence of not realizing that fighting against the dragon flame and heart of ice was more dangerous than it seemed.

Lowering herself down to the ground, no one had expected to see the completely new attire that Natalya had been in. The beautiful gown, the tiara on her head, how her hair had grown twice in length and the jewels and diamond that connected with the outfit. Who everyone had been present to wasn’t just any guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice - but the Princess herself in her true form.

There was a frown on Natalya’s face when she had glanced down at the witch who had been unconscious in her arms. She was done with her. No need to have to deal with her, thus, resulting in her to lower herself down to place Gelinda gently down onto the ground. The witch had gone through enough in one day - there was no need to go hard on her anymore.

She slowly stood up from her spot and let out a large sigh of relief. Seeing Gelinda down was probably one of the biggest reliefs she’s had in a while. The fact that this was the witch that had been actively hunting for her and her power, only to come to a downfall of a loss… It was the end. 

If anyone were to look into the girl’s eyes, it was enough to show the message of how she didn’t even know what was going on. Let alone, the serious expression made it seem that she had made sure that Gelinda wouldn’t get up again.

Being welcomed to the multiple stares at her direction wasn’t the exact scenario Natalya had in mind when returning to Lenfia with the defeated witch. If anything, she was hoping that it would be a situation where she could get off with acting like a normal fairy…

…But with her drastic change in appearance, obviously, everyone was going to notice it.

_“Natalya!”_

Hearing her name had her look up from where she had been staring. It was as if all of her anxiousness and anxieties had built up seeing all the stares. But if there was one thing that had brought reassurance to her chest - it was the sight of seeing her friends.

Florentyna had been the first one to run over to Natalya; tears practically welled up in her eyes as she had rushed over and tackled the other into a tight hug. One by one, the hugs came from her friends. It was what became a giant group hug, which Natalya had welcomed with open arms because it was something she ended after that entire mess.

“Are you okay?!” Mei had followed-up from Florentyna’s question, being the first to pull back from the hug to examine the other’s new appearance, “What happened to you?-”

There were still no words that came from her. Instead, Natalya had slowly stepped forward to look down at Gelinda who had been still unconscious on the ground. She still couldn’t believe it… That she had managed to defeat the one witch that had been after her since the beginning of the school year.

From the alleyway at Magix freezing her body in an ice chamber to defeating her over the lake near Lenfia’s campus. It was something that if she had told her past self this was going to happen, she wouldn’t have believed it at all.

“...The power of the dragon flame and heart of ice is alive, is what happened.” She answered simply after a moment. It was from there that she shot a glare right at the witches with an angered expression on her face. Even if she successfully defeated the witch, she was still in a shaken state…. And rightfully so, “I’ve revoked Gelinda’s powers. She’s not dead, but unconscious for now…”

All she needed though was to take in a deep breath. It was at this point that administrators of the school had approached Gelinda to put her in the same restraints that Aviana and Nebula were in; restricting them from casting any magic or even attempting to move from their position. 

This was when she turned to face her friends and felt a gentle smile grow to her face. Followed by this, she crossed her arms and now let out a nervous chuckle, “So uh,” She began and looked around the school, “...Is everyone okay?”

It was astonishing to her that the restoration spell she used worked… Because it looked like the school didn’t get any scratch. 

“We’re all fine, what’s important is are you hurt?” Tatyana had immediately cut off the other, resulting in her to approach Natalya to grab onto her arms to examine them. First her arms, then her face, then her fingers because she was absolutely blown away at the fact that the girl didn’t seem injured at all from such a massive battle, “I have herbal bandages and potions we can use.”

“HOLD UP!” Florentyna reached over and covered Tatyana’s mouth now, silencing her. This resulted in them looking at the other fairy in confusion because it seemed like she had something more important to say. Once Tatyana had quieted down, Florentyna approached Natalya and made direct eye contact with her - then at the dress she was wearing, “WHERE DID YOU GET THAT DRESS!?”

“Florentyna’s right,” Monika followed-up in agreement; crossing her arms under her chest in amazement, “What _did_ happen to you? We can barely recognize you.”

They could barely recognize her? Natalya swallowed nervously as she looked down at herself. Indeed, it was amazing the transformation that had happened to her. It was as if she had taken on the form of someone else. But on the inside, she was still the same person. 

“I don’t know,” She admitted after a moment of silence.

It was true. She wasn’t expecting the sudden transformation at all. She went from her fairy form - to a form where it seemed like this was her being the Princess. 

She looked down at the gown she was wearing, which was indeed very gorgeous, “…All I remember was being really… scared,” Natalya continued in explanation, now looking at her friends, “I was angry… Scared, and was really in a place where I thought Gelinda really was going to kill me once and for all.”

“Natalya…” Tatyana had gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

“But… Then I heard a voice.” She said simply; tears beginning to well up in her eyes once more. In all truths, Natalya didn’t want to cry - but the thought of it really did relieve her. It was as if at that time in aid, her mother really did come to her side, “She told me… That hope would lead me to finish this fight once and for all. When I opened my eyes… All I saw was my entire fairy form, gone.”

_“It was your mother, wasn’t it?”_

A familiar voice came from behind Natalya as she stood there in confusion. Upon turning her head to see Radella, who seemed absolutely relieved to see that Natalya was okay, was speaking out to her.

“That’s her dress.” She continued, now examining the girl with a smile drawn to her lips, “When she passed the powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice to you, this is what her ultimate form as the guardian Princess was.” 

That explanation completely passed Natalya’s head. What she was more focused on was over the fact that everyone was okay. Even the headmistress was okay. Her Godmother. The one that knew since the beginning of her tragic past, but couldn’t confirm it properly until now. 

For once, a large smile had formed on Natalya’s face as she had rushed over to the headmistress and pulled her into a tight hug. This act had caught Radella by surprise. But of course, she understood that the child must’ve been horrified by the experience she had witnessed.

The woman gracefully returned the embrace and gently patted the back of Natalya’s head before letting out a small whisper, “You have no idea how proud I am of you, Natalya.” 

By the time Natalya had pulled back from the hug, she gave a relieved smile to the woman. Radella was technically the only family she had left from Sparx… So all she wanted at that moment was to connect with the only relatives she did have and show that she was able to do it. She was successfully able to defeat the witches, save the magical dimension, and reclaim her title as Princess.

What she wasn’t expecting though was as she pulled away from the hug, students, and faculty of all three schools… 

...Were on their knees. 

Natalya’s eyes widened upon seeing the sudden change of the environment with all of the students and faculty either bowing or kneeling to the Princess. She looked around in confusion, unsure of what to say or even do, especially since she still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that she was technically the Princess of the magical dimension. 

Only to soon see her friends get on one knee, along with the headmistress…

...Then just behind them, she immediately noticed the blonde hair and glasses that had belonged to her beloved. 

Alfred, a Prince of his own Kingdom, was actually on his knees bowing down to her.

Even if he hadn’t been saying anything then and there, the look he had given her as they exchanged eye contact was enough for Natalya to receive the message that was coming from him. She closed her eyes now, taking in the words that had filled in her head through her magic.

_“I know you would be able to do it, Princess Natasha.”_

She knew he didn’t say it out loud, but she could hear it in her head in his voice. It was something she wasn’t expecting to hear at all. To be referred to her true name and true self… While she still felt like herself, a girl from Earth, it felt nice to have that acknowledgment of her past that she couldn’t have for years.

“Princess Natasha…” Elijah, the Headmaster of UHB had spoken out to the girl while on his knee, which Natalya looked down at in absolute shock since well, an older guy like him shouldn’t be bowing to someone like her at that moment. But he continued anyway, “Guardian of the dragon flame and heart of ice… We are all grateful for you not only saving our lives but the entire magical dimension.” 

There was a silence that came from her. It took her a moment to realize that she was still in the gorgeous gown that she had transformed into. And when she did, it was hard for her to still accept the fact that she really was the Princess of the magical dimension. 

Instead of correcting him, she kept her silence and looked at the scene in front of her. These were individuals who haven’t had a ruler in a very long time. Let alone, anyone from the royal family to be standing yet again. 

This was when she approached the Headmaster and held out a hand. With a smile to her face, she watched as the older man took it while she helped him up, “This is what fate has decided for me.” She explained once she managed to put together the right words, “What I care more is to see the people I care about safe and happy, and if doing something like that is necessary, I will...” She turned her head to the crowd, “...I promise.”

One by one, individuals had begun clapping when hearing what she had said aloud. It was a promise that she was making to the survivors of Magix after such a tragic battle. It would take time for things to go back to normal, but at least now everyone was free from that sense of fear that the witches brought to all of them.

Eventually, the authorities of the magical dimension approached the three witches that were still restrained. They were all forced to their feet; even Gelinda who had already awoken from her unconscious state and was as silent with a muzzle over her mouth to make sure she couldn’t chant out any spells.

Though what Natalya wasn’t expecting was that as the witches were in the hands of the authorities, they went to her directly to ask for punishment.

 _“ME?”_

Why was it that she had to make the big decisions about what to do with the witches? She was the Princess, she knew that, but wasn’t there someone else who dealt with the laws? Or was it that her family was in charge of all laws in the magical dimension? Either way, they were expecting an answer and her ignoring it didn’t seem like the best route to take.

She stood there and glanced over at the three witches. The entire time, they were glaring at the princess in anger, but couldn’t say anything due to their gags.

A punishment… Technically if she wanted, she could send the witches to death for not only messing with her but attempting to destroy the magical dimension. The thing was that as much as she’d like to choose that route, she didn’t know if she’d have the courage to do it. 

But then an idea came to her mind. If she was going to send them off, she had to do it right.

Instead of responding to the question, she had held her hands out as the crystal had appeared in her right palm, now forming into the scepter her mother had granted her usage of. It had been the same scepter she had used to conduct the restoration spell. With it in her hands, she placed the end of it in front of her before another transformation had occurred…

…In this case, it had been her returning to her fairy form. 

She would end this off right as not the Princess, but as a fairy who only wanted to protect and save her friends.

There was a world in the magical dimension that she had visited with her class about the individuals who were once criminals living there to find peace. It was almost similar to a mental institution. Though in this case, this institution was a planet for troubled magical beings.

And she knew that if the witches were sent there, maybe there would be a chance to turn them from evil to good. 

“…The World of Peace,” Natalya had begun with a bit of thought to her tone. This brought attention to not only the witches whose eyes widened in horror, but the authorities were shocked as well, “It’s a place where individuals of the evil go to try and find peace, right? I feel like that’d be a suitable place for them.” 

“Your Highness,” One of the authorities spoke because they truly thought she’d be going for another route, “Are you sure that’s the decision you are making?”

Was it a bad decision? Honestly, she didn’t know. Confusion was brought to her face, thus resulting in her to turn over to her friends who were also unsure of if she was making the right choice. 

Should she have had them executed? No, as much as she would like that, there was something in her heart that said not to.

“The World of Peace is a place where many individuals of evil are sent there to find restoration in peace,” Professor Polonium had spoken out on behalf of the Princess, now stepping in front of the girl. He approached the authorities and motioned over to Natalya with a nod of agreement, “As an administrator, I agree with her. Perhaps this is an opportunity to let them suffer by experiencing the goodness of what this dimension holds.” 

The decision was then reached. The witches would be spending as long as they needed in the said world until they were deemed suitable to return to the worlds of the dimension. Whether it be a year to ten years, they wouldn’t be escaping at all anytime soon and would never bring chaos to the magical dimension ever again. 

The next time Natalya saw Gelinda especially, she hoped that the angered glare in her eyes was gone at that point. 

A portal had formed in front of the authorities after the decision was reached. As the portal was formed, each witch was escorted through it; their glares still being directed at the fairies that had managed to stop them from accomplishing their goals of taking care of the magic dimension. 

Gelinda especially had her glares directly at Natalya; longing for revenge one day from the girl.

With the witches had been taken care of, the school being restored, everyone recovering, the Princess being back - everyone had thought everything was all set and done.

However, there was one other thing that also had to be done. 

The Headmistress held her hands up into the air after the authorities and witches were gone. There, magic-filled the area as what looked like music, food, and other necessities for a college party to be formed on campus. 

Never would she allow something like this, but for the sake of her students, Evanora’s students, and Elijah’s students for working so hard…

…They all deserved it. 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Radella had spoken out after doing this while everyone had been watching in amazement. “Today is a day where we not only have defeated the descendants of the ancestral witches and to be reunited with the Princess of Sparx, but a day of celebration of courage. This is why I’ve decided due to the circumstances and the fact that all of you have fought so hard with difficult magic that no creatures don’t use this early…. Is to waiver final exams and give you all a passing grade for the year.” 

All of the students who had been listening to this felt all their jaws drop. Even Florentyna, she couldn’t help but collapse onto her knees in shock when hearing this. For her, technically she was supposed to be a second-year entering her third year. Due to struggling a lot during her first year, she had failed most introduction courses and had to repeat her first year.

However, thanks to Natalya’s help with studying, she managed to pass some of her classes. The fact that she didn’t have to take exams and automatically pass to go onto her second year, she felt like she was close to crying.

Natalya noticed her friend’s behavior and immediately collapsed onto her knees as well beside her friend. Quickly, she brought the other into a tight hug because even she was relieved for her. She knew that Florentyna really struggled a lot with school, so to hear that she’d finally become a second year after another full year of work, she’d be able to catch up and continue onwards with her and her friends. 

“I’m so proud of you,” Natalya had whispered into the other’s ear who was crying at this point in relief. A relieved smile was on her face the entire time when she spoke, “You have no idea. Don’t worry, I’ll help you next year too and make sure you’ll graduate right next to me, okay?”

Radella couldn’t help but smile seeing her students be so comforting and supportive towards one another. She knew that Natalya had been helping Florentyna a lot the past year, so she was glad that things were working well in all of their favors. However, she wasn’t finished with her speech.

“And now that I’ve done the educational announcement…” This was when she had snapped her fingers. Soon, what seemed to be fireworks filled the air and blew up in explosions as beautiful lights filled the skyline, “Everyone may celebrate with a party on campus with no adult supervision.” 

_With no adult supervision._

That could be a good thing or a terrible thing. Either way, that didn’t stop all of the teenagers to begin celebrating. 

All students had transformed out of their battle attire and fairy forms to more casual clothing. For those who already were living on campus, one trip to their dorm rooms to change, and soon enough, first-years through third-year heroes, fairies, and witches were all on the main campus to participate in the celebration of the school year coming to an end early after a successful battle.

The entire evening was full of celebrations. The success of defeating the witches and ending it on a good note with a party was the best way to put an end to the day. 

What was unexpecting though was the fact that Natalya had been approached by many students who seemed… Apologetic to her? Mostly for the fact of judging her wrongly and not even realizing that she was the lost Princess. Not only this, but the fact as well that while things may have been okay for the magical dimension, she was still a Princess with a lost family and Kingdom.

This wasn’t the exact way Natalya wanted to start off the celebration. Yes, she knew that the individuals didn’t mean to bring up such a sensitive topic for her and they were showing their gratitude to her…. But she was still upset over the fact that in this dimension, she had no idea what she was nor where her family was. 

That didn’t stop her from dancing and enjoying a few drinks with her friends. She tried to avoid showing that she was disappointed and a bit frustrated over the situation, which seemed to work for the most part because her friends were more focused on having fun. 

There was one individual though who managed to notice her change in behavior. 

It was a process for Natalya to manage to escape her group of friends that were insisting that she had more to drink and to have fun with them. She didn’t know when to say no to the offer because since there was no adult supervision, there was alcohol everywhere. 

And she loved alcohol and her friends, so she stayed.

“I’d like to propose a toast!” Florentyna had been sitting down in her chair; clearly a bit dazed from how much she had drank. This was nothing new for the group of fairies and heroes, especially since the girl was much more hyper and extroverted than most of them, “To the fact that we’re not only officially second years and the guys are third years, but to Natalya for doing every fairy in this dimension a favor and kicking some witch booty!”

The fairies and heroes had been all seated at a table with one another. Natalya of course had been sitting right next to the one person that she wanted to talk to after that whole mess, and that was Alfred himself, who had been sitting right beside her with her hand in his. Each one of them had been holding onto a glass of champagne in celebration of the toast.

“Wow, did you hear that?” Natalya smirked up at the blonde next to her, “She’s calling you a third year, which means you’re old.”

“That makes no sense to me at all,” Alfred put simply before looking over at Florentyna and calling out, “You do realize we’re the same age, right?”

“Ouch,” Monika couldn’t help but to laugh at the comment being made, “Great way to remind her that she was held back a year.”

“Oh haha, very funny.” Florentyna rolled her eyes and held her glass into the air. While this was the usual teasing she got from her friends, she continued with her toast, “But seriously! We’re all on summer break, passed the school year, don’t have to deal with witches, and won this epic battle thanks to Natalya. Or should I say, Princess Natasha~”

“Would you not?” Natalya chuckled, turning her head away, “I really am not used to it yet at all.”

“Trust me hun, you’ll get used to it eventually,” Tatyana had said simply and placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder, “It’s the royal life. Even though you’re a Princess, you’re still the same Natalya in my eyes that I met all those months ago.”

Hearing that truly did bring a sense of reassurance to her chest. That was what she wanted… She accepted the fact that she was the Princess. It would take some time naturally, but at the end of the day, she was glad that her friends and close ones hadn’t forgotten about who she _really_ was. 

The toast was given as everyone at their table had cheered and clinked their glasses with one another. While it was indeed nice to spend time with her friends after all that had happened, there were stil things to process from the events from earlier that evening. 

The battle, the voice, regaining her lost memories from her tragic past… 

...It was bothering her to the point where she had lied to her friends after their toast to go to the bathroom. Though the reality was that, she went up to the balcony of her dorm. This was the only place where she would be able to get peace. 

All she needed was ten minutes. That’s all she needed to gather her thoughts and figure out what to do. 

As she stood there, she looked down from the balcony where she could see Monika and Gilbert standing in front of each other at a table. Mei had been holding onto a whistle and Florentyna had been holding onto a timer. From what she could see, it seemed that there had been a line of rainbow shots lined up in front of them. 

At least they were having fun. 

This didn’t avoid the fact that an individual saw Natalya run off before the shot competition began. While Natalya had been standing out on the balcony, a familiar man had followed her inside the dorms and snuck into the suite.

Seeing the girl standing there alone had him silent as he stood there, watching her.

To Alfred, she was absolutely beautiful. Her standing under the moonlight after an intense evening, especially with having that image of her in her Princess attire being locked in his mind - it was as if that he had fallen in love with her on the spot again. She may have been Princess Natasha, but in his eyes, he still saw her as the girl he had fallen in love with.

The unique girl from Earth that was different compared to all magical beings. 

The thing was, she was much more than just any ordinary magical being.

She knew immediately who it was just by his aura. There was one thing that her powers could do, and it always sensed the auras of any individual that was close by to her. She knew Alfred was there, but she didn’t say anything. 

“So, what’s a lady such as yourself sittin’ out here alone?” The man began with a snicker to his tone to break the silence. 

This resulted in Natalya to simply hold out her hand with a middle finger gesture, to which on Earth, it was the simple message of ‘fucking off’, as she called it. She wanted to be left alone at that moment. It was a clear message with punishment intended. The thing was that she had forgotten she was dealing with Alfred, who wouldn’t leave her alone until he knew what was going on.

He wasn’t phased by it at all because where he was from, being flipped off didn’t mean anything. So without any sort of hesitation, he reached out for the hand and took it into his own hands before bringing it up to his lips to kiss against it, “Her Highness, the grumpiest fairy of the century.”

“I’m not grumpy, Alfred,” Natalya turned to face him now seeing that he wouldn’t leave her alone at this point. He found her secret hiding spot which meant he wanted details on why she was there by herself, “I’m thinking.”

Thinking? Alfred felt a brow slowly raise in response to hearing that statement. After all, that’s happened, was she beginning to have doubts about the whole situation that had happened?

With a sigh, he stood beside her now and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, “Well, let’s hear it. You can’t keep it bottled up forever.” 

He did have a point. Whenever she kept things bottled up to herself, it never seemed to turn out good.

“I don’t know,” Natalya let out a frustrated sigh while glancing down at her friends. The shot competition seemed to have begun, and so far Monika seemed to be in the lead. Typical of her, “I was thinking about how summer break is about to start…. Everyone’s going away for a couple of months, and I… Guess I got sad.”

“Natalya, sad?” Alfred couldn’t help but place a hand on top of the girl’s forehead. This made her pout in response because she knew he was teasing her in a way, but in reality, he wasn’t. He genuinely was concerned because he never heard of Natalya getting sad before, “Maybe you drank too much, Nat… Since I know you get moody after drinking—-“

“Fuck off,” Natalya turned her head away now. Well, that only proved his point further because she could just hear him chuckling at that response. This made her cross her arms and close her eyes. How could she tell him this in the lightest way possible? “…I just… I’m going to miss you a lot, that’s all.” 

What went from him joking around with her, went immediately into him feeling his heart pulling at his chest. She was sad because summer was approaching and she didn’t want to leave. Normally students usually went back to their own worlds once summer arrived, so that meant she was going back to Earth… 

...But that didn’t mean he couldn’t visit her. 

“What do you mean?” He then spoke out and rested his rear against the edge of the balcony. When he did so, he watched the girl turn her head over to him with a bit of confusion brought to her face, “Didn’t I agree to let you come by for dinner with fancy royal food? We shook on it too, Nat, so I don’t know where this is coming from.”

Her expression softened a bit when hearing this. 

That’s right.

Back on Sparx, she said that on a few conditions she’d forgive him for lying to her. One of those conditions was allowing her to not only meet his parents but to get to experience what ‘fancy royal food’ tasted like. 

A hint of laughter came from the woman now. She had to admit that the man got her good. 

Natalya sat against the edge and looked at him, her arms once again crossed as if she were imitating him, “Alright smartass, I guess you got me there.” 

That was much better. Seeing Natalya act like her old self after all the shit that they’ve gone through with all these battles, witches… It was great to see her the same way that she was before. 

“ _What are you two love birds doing up there!?”_ A familiar voice met both of their eardrums. Upon looking down, this was where they were exposed to a very loud, obviously drunken Florentyna. This made their expressions go from calm to a bit concerned, since they had no idea how she managed to get that much liquor into her hands, “You’re missin’ the partyyyy!!” 

Due to her loud nature, this had resulted in Mei and Tatyana to try and calm her down. Even if there was no adult supervision, that could easily change if one of the administrators caught Florentyna doing something stupid. 

But she did have a point, Alfred couldn’t help but agree in his mind. This was where he reached over and took Natalya’s hand once more, which startled her at first before she looked over at the other.

“Come on,” He smiled in reassurance, now leaning forward to peck a small kiss against the girl’s lips. In response to this, Natalya’s face went red, which was exactly what Alfred wanted as a large smirk formed on his lips, “She’s right. Maybe we should head down there and at least have some fun.” 

That was something she could agree to.

With a nod, the couple had left the said balcony to head downstairs. After all, the rest of the evening was a night of celebration. No worries or stress should be coming to their minds at that very moment.

The back of her head though, Natalya had been having some conflicting thoughts. Now that she knew about her true family, she still didn’t know how to process all of this information. Things were going to change around the school now that it’s been discovered that she is the lost Princess.

The next step was to figure out exactly where her family was. It could take a while, but she knew she would be able to do it with her friends and loved ones by her side. 

When this new journey began, she would be ready to embrace it with open arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE'VE MADE IT TO THE ENDDDD  
> YAYYYY.  
> (insert celebratory emoji here).
> 
> I mean, we reached the end of part one of the story.
> 
> Did I already mention that there will be an epilogue coming to conclude part one of this story?
> 
> I'm so excited to start working on Part 2. Especially since it'll get into more detail of the whole Braginsky family. 
> 
> Also when it comes to Natalya's Princess form, I tried to describe it as best as I can. I guess you can say as I was writing it, I was writing it with the image of when Sailor Moon discovers herself as Princess Serenity and goes through that whole transformation sequence LOL.
> 
> As for when the epilogue will be out to conclude the story? Please look out on 07/20/2020 for a release!
> 
> Until then, see you soon!~ <3


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a nod, the couple had left the said balcony to head downstairs. After all, the rest of the evening was a night of celebration. No worries or stress should be coming to their minds at that very moment.
> 
> The back of her head though, Natalya had been having some conflicting thoughts. Now that she knew about her true family, she still didn’t know how to process all of this information. Things were going to change around the school now that it’s been discovered that she is the lost Princess.
> 
> The next step was to figure out exactly where her family was. It could take a while, but she knew she would be able to do it with her friends and loved ones by her side. 
> 
> When this new journey began, she would be ready to embrace it with open arms.

_Darkness is in grave peril._

_In this world, a shadow lingers deep in the caves of a fortress._

_A young man, who once ventured in the cave to understand the dragon flame and heart of ice._

_As he entered the cave, he is greeted to the sight of fountains leading up to a castle. This castle had been made out of the rubble and stone part of the cave, where creatures of the army of decay guarded it to keep its shadow safe._

_With his magic weakened, he ventures up the sides of the castle; holding onto the stone as a way to pull himself up._

_He climbs and climbs, wondering just how long it would take to reach the top of it. Without the help of his wings, he begins to lose hope thinking he won’t be able to reach the top._

_Alas, his worries are dismissed when he manages to reach a part of the castle with a platform._

_He pushes himself up once reaching it; catching his breath from how much energy and strength it had taken him to venture up the sides of the castle._

_Through his teal orbs, he is greeted to the sight of enemy creatures guarding what seems to be an entrance. He had never seen such a disgusting sight before. Castles were supposed to be guarded by knights to served to their royals._

_However, these enemies had been serving a Dark Lord who was aware of the presence of an intruder._

_The enemies one by one begin to surround the exhausted man. The man’s eyes are widened as he reaches to his side to draw his sword, simply out of an instinct for fighting the members of the army of decay. Though instead of the enemies attacking him, all it takes for him is one blink to be transported to a different place._

_This place had been surrounded in darkness._

_He looks around, frightened at the amount of negative energy that had been using to drain his magic at first being ten times worse than before. He swings his sword, believing that it was all an illusion being hosted by the ruler of the castle itself. But instead, his sword makes contact with nothing but the thin air in front of him._

_With nothing happening, the man collapses to the ground in exhaustion once more. The climb from before had not only exhausted his body physically but as his magic was continued to be drained from him, he has no energy to pick himself back up._

_It was what the Dark Lord wanted._

_In the distance, a pair of red eyes glare down at the man who had decided to journey to the darkest caves of the magical dimension._

_An angel of death._

_“You shall be punished Paladin of Light, for thinking you can sneak into my Kingdom.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have made it to the end of Part 1 of "Secret of the Lost Fairy!" 
> 
> I can't believe we're here. This was a very intense story to write. In between graduating college, starting graduate school, working full-time, it's been insane! But I am SO happy to have it done. 
> 
> I LOVE writing cross-over stories. This is why I've decided to continue on with the story in "Part 2!" (And an additional few parts if all goes well).
> 
> After all, there's a whole lot more about Natalya's past and her family that I want to dive more into. 
> 
> I want to thank each and every person that took the time to read this. It is a LOT of words, but I wanted to make sure I put in enough detail so that you, the reader, could visualize it. :)
> 
> If you are wondering, "LittlestBook, where can I read Part 2 to this story?"
> 
> Well my good friend, you can find Part 2 right here!: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25438828
> 
> I have already uploaded the prologue so we can just hop right into it. 
> 
> Once again, thank you so much for writing.
> 
> Hetalia and Winx Club belong to their respected owners and not by me. This is only a fanfiction written for fun, and I do not take credit for any of it. 
> 
> I'll see you over at "The Secret of The Lost Fairy: Part 2!" :)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading "The Secret of a Lost Fairy." This was something that I've been wanting to do for years. One of my favorite things is combing plots from either shows or books into the world of Hetalia (such as how people do, Pottertalia/Hetalia x Harry Potter - that sort of ordeal), so I wondered what would that world look like with the story of "Winx Club." Of course, the story will be similar to what is shown on the show, but there will be some major differences when it comes to characters (mainly based on personalities, other plotline changes that I think would take place with these Hetalia characters). This is also sort-of based on Sailor Moon as well (especially in regards to the Princess stuff). 
> 
> This will be shown in later chapters as the story progresses. If you were someone who watched Winx Club, while this series is HEAVILY based on it, the later chapters do show a lot of differences in plot - starting off with this prologue as an introduction. 
> 
> This is, of course, an alternative reality/domestic AU of the story. There are some things that are VERY different from the plot of Winx Club (i.e., Natalya, who will serve as our protagonist will have two powers and not just one). There are also original characters (OCs) being used for purposes of plots. (I.e., in the original Winx Club there are witches. While the witches come later, they are all OC based in this version). 
> 
> My goal is to at least get one chapter up every Sunday morning, or maybe even earlier if I finish it. With the posting of this prologue, this means that chapter one of the series will be released on April 4th, 2020. 
> 
> AGAIN - this is all a work of FICTION. If you do not like the story, you do not have to read. This is JUST for fun, and I have NO ownership of the characters or plot of Hetalia/Winx Club. All characters and the story (despite the changes that I am making to the story), belong to their respected owners. 
> 
> This is rated M for mature audiences due to mature content that is to come later in the story (if you're a huge AmeBel fan, this is for you haha). 
> 
> With that being said, thank you for checking out this work, and I look forward to sharing with you more! :)
> 
> UPDATE 07/21/2020: We have completed the story! Thank you SO much for those who have left kudos and positive comments! I absolutely loved reading them and I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I do.
> 
> PART 2 IS NOW UPLOADED! Please feel free to check it out at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25438828
> 
> Thank you again, and looking forward to seeing you there! <3


End file.
